A Hero's Soul
by Soul of Heroes
Summary: Siegfried has finally defeated his past. Link is living happily with his wife! But when a man shrouded in darkness comes to Siegfried he must live to fight for not one, but two realms and help father-to-be Link. Link/Midna Siegfried/Hilde. small spoilers
1. Old Evils, Old Heroes!

**_Transcending history and the world, a tail of swords and souls eternally retold._**

**_Soul Edge: The Sword of Damnation, and Nightmare's weapon of choice_**

**_Soul Calibur: The Holy Sword, created solely to destroying Soul Edge, and held by Siegfried._**

**_The Master Sword: The Blade of Evil's Bane, and Link the chosen wielder._**

**_Ganondorf: an evil man whose plans have yet to be put into action, but his sights have been set on the Soul calibur's wielder._**

**_Chapter I_**

**_Old Evils, Old Heroes_**

XxXxX

"With this, it ends." Siegfried Schtauffen didn't look back as his past fell with a clank of metal on stone.

"Our kind should not exist in this world," he said after he turned around. "Not ever again." Siegfried placed his crystal sword point down in the stone atop the tower where he and Nightmare had fought. Letting go of the handle he waited for what he knew was coming.

Clapping could now be heard behind him, but he didn't turn.

"I must admit," said a voice, "I didn't think you could defeat him, but you did so you must be overjoyed by this." Siegfried noticed that his sword hadn't incased him in crystal yet. "Or is there another threat that you need to see to?"

Siegfried turned around to face the voice, grabbing Soul calibur because he sensed an evil aura. "Who are you?" he asked a man in full black leather and blood red cape. He stood nearly seven feet tall, with red hair and beard, his skin tanned from being in the sun most of his life, and yellow eyes. The handle of a long glowing broadsword was clearly visible at his side.

"My name is not important, yet," the man said. "But I already know your name, Siegfried Schtauffen. The azure knight: Nightmare." The man said the last name with a dark smile.

Siegfried raised his sword. "Do not call me Nightmare," he yelled.

"But of course, you escaped the sword's curse, didn't you?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you? I'll ask you only once more."

The man's smile grew. "My name is…. Ganondorf."

"What do you want?"

"Revenge." The smile disappeared into a sneer. "On a boy who took away my future, my power, and my life."

"Revenge is a self destructive thing. It will turn you into a monster just like it did me."

"Then you will not help me?"

Siegfried looked Ganondorf in the eyes before answering flatly. "No."

"Then you leave me no choice." Ganondorf raised his right hand toward the corpse of Nightmare. Three golden triangles appeared in a triangular pattern on the back of his hand, the top one glowing more brightly than the others, Nightmare began to move, slowly at first. Siegfried moved quickly to attack the dark man. Ganondorf sidestepped the attack and kicked Siegfried in the back. Siegfried did not expect to feel that much force from one kick as he was sent flying across the tower. "You have some skill to be sure, but you lack true power, the kind of power those chosen by the gods wield." He showed the back of his right hand as he clenched it into a fist and the three golden triangles reappeared.

"Who the hell are you?" Nightmare asked as he got up.

"I am your friend, Nightmare," Ganondorf said without turning away from Siegfried. "And I am here to help you."

Nightmare laughed. "I need no one's help," he said.

"That is not what I would surmise, given the corpse you were only moments ago." He turned to face Nightmare. "Now that you are whole again, thanks to me, perhaps you would help me with my revenge."

Nightmare's eyes lit up with red at the word revenge. "Who is it?" he asked.

"A boy by the name of Link."

Nightmare laughed again. "I will fight no mere boy."

"This boy has a strong soul and a heart of light. He is one of three chosen by the gods and holds a magic sword of light, much like your friend Siegfried, only this sword is one of time as well." Siegfried was thinking fast as Ganondorf continued. "This boy is the only known descendent of a man who was called the 'Hero of Time'. This boy is the 'Hero of Twilight'."

"And why can't you kill him?" Nightmare mocked. Behind his dark-blue full helmet he was smirking. "As you said, you are one chosen by the 'gods'."

"You dare mock me?" Ganondorf roared.

Nightmare raised Soul Edge with his monstrous right hand and pointed it at Ganondorf's throat. "Yes," he said. "I dare."

Ganondorf, however, was not going to let die his one chance at revenge. He sighed as he made up his mind. "We have a common problem," he said. "You have just been defeated by this man." He pointed a finger at Siegfried, who was thinking of a way out of this. "And I by this boy. I will help you, and you will help me."

"And why would I need your 'help'?"

"You have failed to destroy this man, and I have failed to kill that damned boy. Together we will be able to see that both our dreams come true."

Siegfried's mind was going so fast a man who could run around the world in less then a day would be left in the dust. He didn't know of this boy, nor did he know what the man before him did. What he did know was that both of those monsters together could surely defeat the boy. '_The hero of time?_' he thought. '_I feel like I've heard this name before._'

"You imply that I should know this boy," said Nightmare, voicing Siegfried's thoughts.

"You know of his ancestor," Ganondorf replied. "As the Hero of Time he was able to go into the future and seal your sword away." He cocked his head to one side. "Haven't you ever wondered why Soul Edge has never been complete before?"

"That boy?" Nightmare's rage grew with his realization.

"Yes," he said simply.

Nightmare roared in anger. "I will rip out his soul and feast on his flesh," he shouted to the stormy sky. Ganondorf smiled. He had succeeded.

"We shall leave now," Nightmare stated. "After that we will resurrect Soul Edge, completely and fully."

"Then we shall go." Ganondorf raised his hand and a portal appeared at his feet. "We shall enter the realm of Twilight," he said to his new ally.

'_I know of that realm._' Siegfried thought in a panic. '_That is a realm of peace and prosperity. He must be a peace loving man. I must warn him_!'

As Ganondorf and Nightmare were about to enter the portal, Siegfried rushed up, pushed them both out of the way, and entered the door to Twilight, the portal closing behind him.

XxXxX

Meanwhile, in the realm of Twilight, Link stood on a balcony overlooking the realm in his new black and silver tunic. Although he didn't want to call it what it was, he was the ruler of this realm. By marrying Midna he had become the Twilight king. A light being becoming king created many problems within the Twilight courts, and they'd only gotten worse with the latest development.

Midna was pregnant.

XxXxX

**All right, here it is. Short, I know, but this is more of a 'hay, this is what's going on here,' kinda chapter. Read and Review please. I'd like to know how you people think about this.**


	2. Try Ko Keep Me Away!

**What do you think of the story so far? I like it, but then again, I'm the one who wrote it, aren't I?**

**Anyway, this chapter is more of Midna and Link and their life in the Twilight, but don't worry I'm still going to put Siegfried in this one. Or am I? (Unleash maniacal evil laugh…)**

**R&R please, hope you like it.**

_**Chapter II:**_

_**Try to keep me away!**_

XxXxX_**  
**_

It was midday in the realm of Twilight as Link sighed and moved back inside the palace. After he closed the door to the balcony he calmly walked to his and Midna's room, where she would be in their bed, resting. But he sighed again as he walked in. "You should be resting," he said to the empty room. Getting no response, Link smiled and walked to the closet. He pulled out his ocarina, placed it to his lips and started to play.

The song was the 'Nocturne of Shadow' and was Midna's favorite of his many melodies. But that was not why he played it. The song allowed him to see Midna. When the last note was done his eyes no longer saw anything in front of him. Instead he saw Midna, sneaking up behind him and preparing to pounce. Apparently she hadn't heard him playing. He inwardly smirked and let her slowly move towards him. He put the ocarina back inside the closet and pretended to be looking for something as his vision came back to his head.

Midna grinned as she walked up behind Link and prepared to grab him. As she was about to place her arms around his chest he turned around with great speed and pulled her into an embrace of his own, locking her lips with his in a moment of passion. He was glad when Midna wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with equal love.

Link pulled away and smiled at the look she gave him. "How did you know, Link?" she asked.

"You should be resting," he said, ignoring her question and walking her over to the bed, "you know that."

"Oh, all right," she said as she lay down on the black-sheeted bed.

"Now I want you to promise me you're going to rest and stay in bed."

"Yes, mom," she replied sarcastically.

"Good," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her once more. When Link pulled away he covered Midna with lightweight sheets, walked out and closed the door. He waited a moment before opening the door to see Midna attempting to get to the budget and staff meeting that was taking place that afternoon. "I see you," he said playfully. She jumped and turned to see Link's face in the doorway. "Come on, Midna." He gave her the famous puppy dog eyes and began to talk.

It took him over half an hour before he finally managed to keep his wife in the bed and was able to enjoy what the Twilight had to offer. But his mind was still on Midna and his child-to-be. What would it look like? What would the Twili think about it? Will they even accept it? Link sighed again; he really needed to know which gender it was. "How could I do this to her?" he asked himself, "Even if it does look like one of the Twilight they won't accept it."

"Won't accept what?" asked a voice behind the king. Link turned to see Shildow, one of the palace guards and probably his only REAL friend in all the Twilight.

"My child, Shildow," he answered before turning back and walking to the conference room, Shildow at his side. "Most of you probably won't accept it."

"Your majesty…" Shildow got no farther as Link held up a hand to stop his words.

"You know how I feel about that, Shildow. My name is Link, and I do not want my friends to address me by my title. I don't want anyone to address me by my title!"

"I'm sorry, your… Link," he corrected himself. "You have been my friend ever since you saved this realm from destruction all those years ago, and your child will always be my friend as well!"

Link stopped and faced his friend. Shildow did the same, but the guard was not expecting what Link did next. The king brought the royal guard into a hug.

"Thanks," he said when he let go of the slightly confused Twili.

"No, problem, Link," was the reply from Shildow. Link smiled and continued walking to the meeting hall, leaving Shildow to ponder the light-worlder's hug.

When Link entered the council chambers, he moved to sit on his chair. Link never wanted a throne, so whenever he could he sat in a normal black oak chair. It was next to his wife's throne and had many Twili symbols to mark his role as King. The council treated him like they always did as he put on his crown-like headband. Suspiciously but without comments.

"Shall we start?" Link asked the men surrounding him with a smile.

A short silence followed before a man in a blue robe spoke up. "Certainly, your…" He got no further as Link raised an eyebrow. "Link," the man known as Histeesh said, bowing his head a little to show an apology.

"Thank you," Link said and motioned for him to continue.

The meeting was as boring as always. It was rarely ever exciting, unless Midna got into one of her pregnancy mood-swings. But that could become dangerous to anyone who said anything she didn't like at that nanosecond. Most of the time when Link was at these meetings he would simply think of all he and his wife had been through. But now, with Midna resting in bed, he couldn't do that. Instead he had to sit and listen to a bunch of old Twilight men argue over little things. Midna was better at this then he was, but he had learned a few things from her.

After an hour or so the meeting was adjourned and Link was free to go back to his now sleeping wife. But not before he checked everything over with Shildow. Ever since Link and Midna found out they were going to have a child, Link had asked Shildow to go about and listen for any type of betrayal or any unusual things happening in the realm.

He moved in shadows, not wanting to attract any attention from the people of Twilight. Around corners and down stairs, the blue-eyed beast finely arrived at their secret meeting place. Knocking twice he entered and was met with a blade at his throat.

"The blue sky never fails," whispered Shildow.

"And forever lives the Twilight," Link replied calmly, the sword left his throat and he turned to face Shildow.

"Why must we do this?" Shildow asked his king as he bowed briefly.

"You never know when someone may be impersonating one of us," Link explained. The king moved over to sit by a long table as he took off his crown. Shildow sat next to him.

"Anything?" the king asked.

Shildow shook his head, "nothing against you and Midna, or your child, but I did hear some interesting things from a few drunks."

"What things?" Link cocked his head.

"Well, one of them said that your child is going to be a girl." Link smiled at that, but that smile vanished after the next sentence. "Another said it was going to be just like its mother. A traitor and a backstabber." Shildow took a deep breath before looking Link in the eyes and saying, "but I did hear of a dark energy near the outskirts of Turnusk."

Turnusk was a neighboring city of the Twilight palace and very remote in its beliefs. After Link and Midna's wedding, Turnusk separated from Twilight's main alliance and now stood apart from the rules of Twilight.

"Where did you hear this?" Link asked his friend, who only shrugged.

"I heard it from one of the other drunks. It may be just more ramblings caused by a strong drink."

"But still worth investigating! Is there anything else?" Shildow shook his head. Link nodded and stood up, "Thank you for your report, Shildow. I shall retire now." Shildow stood and bowed as Link left the room, then smirked as he came back to retrieve his crown.

As Link made his way back to his chambers where his beloved Midna was hopefully resting, his mind was thinking over Shildow's report about a dark energy. He had never got the chance to kill Ganondorf, since he was too worried about Midna's health to care at the time. If it was his doing it would not be good. But his thoughts were interrupted when he closed his door behind him and was tackled by Midna and kissed repeatedly.

"I missed you!" Midna said in-between kisses.

Link managed to hold her off long enough to speak. "I haven't been gone that long."

"Does it matter?" she whispered as she tried to kiss him again. Link somehow managed to stand up, scoop Midna into his arms, and walk to the bed, where he lay her down before crawling in next to her and, with a small bit of difficulty, went to sleep.

XxXxX

That night, Link had one of his many visions, but this one didn't make any since whatsoever! A man in light-reflecting crystal armor was facing off against a monster in dark blue armor with a tremendous three fingered claw for a right arm, and deep, blood red eyes. Both of them had swords as tall as they were and seemed to have the same fighting style as they used the swords without any form of difficulty. As Link watched the two he was able to detect an enchanted power coming from both swords each time they made contact with each other. He watched in amazement as the man in the light-reflecting armor took a mighty swing and the sword he held expanded in length and size. The attack hit the monster and it was thrown backwards. The effort of the attack seemed to drain the knight of energy and he fell to one knee, panting.

Link turned his attention to the monster as it got back up, eyes blazing fiercely as it spoke. "This time, I shall take my body back." His voice was as deep as the abyss and clearly evil. Though it seemed the knight was losing strength, Link couldn't fathom how the monster could survive another attack like that.

The knight rose, his sword shifting back to its original size, he looked the monster straight in the eyes and said, "Let's settle this once and for all, my unforgivable past." With that he and the monster used the last of their strength and charged each other, the man swinging to his left, the monster attempting to crush the knight with an overhand strike with its right arm.

The knight gave a battle cry while the monster let out a roar as they came within striking distance. They swung their mighty blades and skidded to a stop a few feet apart from each other. Neither one moved.

Link couldn't tell whose blade found its mark, nor could he tell why this vision was so important now. But he didn't dwell on that as he noticed the monster's blade. On the flat of it there was an eyeball, a living eyeball in a socket, and full of evil energy.

Link turned away from the battle as his instincts took hold and there he saw his archenemy.

Ganondorf.

Ganondorf was smiling. Not a good sign! And his eyes were filled to the brim with greed. Link turned back to the two warriors just in time to see the monster attempt to raise his sword and strike the knight from behind. Its right arm, the one it was using, shook uncontrollably, and fell with a clatter after the knight spoke his next words. "With this, it ends," the knight said before the monster fell. And that was all there was to see, as the man turned around. Link's vision was over.

XxXxX

Link awoke with a start, drenched in sweat and panting as he sat straight up. He looked over at Midna, still asleep and smiling, not aware of his vision or of his uneasy feeling about it.

'_What does it mean?_' he asked himself as he carefully got out of bed to not wake his sleeping beauty. '_What must I do?_'

link put on his black and silver night-robe, as he slipped out onto the balcony, Midna felt his absence and looked around the room. Not seeing him, she slipped out of the four-poster bed, taking a deep breath as she felt movement inside her womb.

'_Please help me, Farore,_' Link thought as he leaned on the balcony overlooking the Twilight. '_I have to protect her._'

He was here for a few moments before he heard movement coming from behind him. "Are you alright?" Midna asked him softly, putting a light hand on his shoulder, her other hand over her growing belly.

"Something's going to happen," he replied without looking at her, "and I don't know what." He shrugged her hand off and moved to the side of the balcony. The Hero of Time and Twilight sighed once more before turning to face the woman he loved. "I'm sorry, Midna, but I have to go. Ganondorf is up to something and I have to stop him."

Midna looked at Link with a mixture of fear and understanding. She feared him dying but understood his sense of duty. As the Hero of Twilight, and now its king, Link was charged with the protection of this peaceful realm, even at the cost of death. But it was Ganondorf he had just said, and she knew of the power he held. She nodded before she pulled him into a loving kiss. "Just come home safely," she whispered as they parted.

"Just try to keep me away," he whispered back before he kissed her one last time and moved into their room to gather his equipment.

Siegfried entered the realm he had heard about only in legends and folklore with the biggest headache he ever had in his life. He keept a firm grip on his holly sword, knowing full well he would lose any energy he had left from his previous fight if he let go of it. Panting heavily, he moved in the direction he hoped was east, thinking over what he'd heard. '_I hope this boy is up to fighting this Ganondorf and Nightmare. If he's not, this realm, and our realm, will never see peace again!_'

XxXxX

Siegfried continued walking, using Soul Calibur as a cane on occasion to keep his balance. He eventually arrived at a darkened fort, knowing full well that his armor, which quite literally glowed with a bright blue energy and his sword, which was made of the same substance, would be visible to anyone looking out the windows.

"I hope there is… someone in there… who can… help me," he panted. He fell to one knee. Unable to go further, the last thing he saw was a blue-eyed wolf looking at him from afar before everything went black.

XxXxX

**OOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**Siegfried and Link shall finally meet, but what is going on with Ganondorf and Nightmare? You'll find out if you wait a little longer for the next chapter.**

**Please review, until next time. **


	3. Darkness and Shadow

**Hello people of fanfiction****, it's me! And here's another chapter from 'A Hero's Soul'. This one is to show you readers more of Nightmare, Ganondorf (or Ganondork as I like to call him) and their plan to destroy the two heroes. Just as a reminder, Link does not wear his old Hero's garb. Instead he wears a black tunic with gold lacing. This chapter is where the rating comes in, and it has been rated for a good reason… ye be warned.**

**Here's a little background information on this thing: Link never got the chance to kill Ganondorf when they fought, Midna never shattered the Mirror of Twilight, and it has been about three years since Link and Ganondorf had said fight. **

**P.S. Link turning into a wolf is just a magic spell he can use.**

**But enough of this chitchat, READ AND ENJOY.**

_**Chapter III:**_

_**Darkness and Shadow**_

XxXxX_**  
**_

The wolf now watching Siegfried had been waiting over an hour, his blue eyes ceaseless in its search for the man from its vision. The wolf had the usual gray fur, but had an unusual golden symbol on his forehead and blue hoop earrings on both ears.

Link had been searching for the knight since he told Midna about his vision and when he finally found him, the knight was using the giant light-reflecting, crystal-like sword he used as a cane once in a while just to stand.

'_He must be tired,_' Link thought. The knight fell to one knee, unable to move forward anymore. '_I would be too if I was carrying a huge sword like that._' He approached slowly, he didn't think the stranger was evil, seeing as he was facing a monster with an evil infested sword.

But it didn't hurt to be careful every once in a while.

Link turned back into his true form and slowly approached the man, who lay face down on the ground clutching his weapon. One of the first things he noted was the scar that ran from over the right side of his eyebrow all the way down to his cheek. Judging from the look of the blade it was a sword of light, but he couldn't tell for sure.

"Midna's gonna love this," he mumbled as he wrapped the unconscious knight's arm around his shoulders.

The unconscious man was surprisingly light, despite the armor that covered everything from his broad-shoulders down to his muscular legs. And when Link tried to touch the sword it vanished, reappearing over the knight's left shoulder where it seemed to meld with the armor.

"Cool," he whispered in fascination.

The man from Link's vision stirred weakly but didn't wake. Not able to risk displaying his wolf form, Link walked for home, occasionally adjusting the knight to keep a good grip on him.

Even from a distance, he saw a light flicker and then die inside the Fort of Turnusk.

'_This could get deadly interesting, really fast,_' the Hero of Twilight thought as he hung his head and carried Siegfried and Soul Calibur to the Palace of Twilight.

XxXxX

"You're sure of this?" Ganondorf asked Nightmare.

Nightmare simply looked ahead and grunted as they walked into the dungeons of Wolfkrone. If it weren't for the fact that this man could help him get his revenge on Siegfried, Nightmare would have devoured his soul by now. But he knew Ganondorf's power was not to be taken lightly. Nightmare was no stranger to power, seeing as he was made of it. He recognized that this man possessed something different than he had ever encountered before, and he had thousands of years of memories by which to judge.

There was something Ganondorf wasn't telling him. There was no doubt in Nightmare's mind.

He didn't have time to dwell on that thought though, as a giant ax came down at that moment to split his skull. He rolled out of the way of the killing strike and came up with an attack of his own. The Soul Edge came up, taking Astaroth by surprise and knocked him upside the head with the flat of the blade.

'_Pathetic,_' Ganondorf thought as the golem fell to the ground. "Do you honestly think this…thing will be able to distract him?" he asked Nightmare.

"He's all muscle and no brain," he replied, "but if he has a goal…" He looked at Ganondorf with a smirk underneath his helmet. "Very few will be able to stop him."

"Still. How can we use this…thing, to our advantage?"

"He was defeated by Siegfried and locked up here by the Princess of this godforsaken land Hildegard von krome," the monster said. "He will want revenge on him just like I do."

Ganondorf thought a moment. Then reached a conclusion. "What is their relationship?" he asked.

The sudden question caught Nightmare off guard, and that didn't happen often. But come to think of it, Hilde had never really been able to hold back a blush from her cheeks whenever she saw Siegfried. He had saved her life when Nightmare had attempted to kill her. The memory of that day brought a smile to Nightmare's face. That was the day he killed Tira. She had gotten in the way too many times and she seemed to be developing a heart and a mind of her own.

"Where are you going with this?" he asked, finally.

Ganondorf smirked. "I think we should pay this '_Princess_', a little visit," was all he said before turning back and heading towards the exit.

Nightmare looked down at Astaroth's unconscious form for a moment, then another. In the next, a blade flashed silently in the light…

Nightmare left behind a headless golem as he followed Ganondorf up to the throne room. He held the head of Astaroth in his monstrous right hand, blood dripping over the stone floor as an eerie blue glow now came from the eye of Soul Edge.

XxXxX

"You're sure of this?"

"Beyond any doubt."

"So our beloved '_King_' has brought in another form of light. It seems he has gone back on his promise."

"We must act!"

"Patience, my friend, patience. First, we must let lord Delitch know of this."

"And then?"

"Then the so called '_King_' of Twilight will die."

Hateful laughter filled the dark halls of the Turnusk Fort.

XxXxX

**Wow. I thought this would never get up on the site, but it has – so, yea!**

**I told you it was rated for a good reason. BEHEADED? Yuck, but hey, Nightmare isn't an idiot... okay he's not TOTALLY an idiot, and he know now Ganondorf has a plan. I put him in only to kill him for two reasons. 1: I didn't know of any better way to introduce Hilde. And 2: I don't think he'd last five seconds against Siegfried OR Link, let alone Siegfried AND Link, that wouldn't be a very exiting battle would it? He swings his Ax, he misses, oh, he just got killed, this way it makes it easier to progress.  
**

**Just so you know, Link made a promise to never force the Twili to accept any more unwanted light when he became king, just to clear that up.**

**I may put some Siegfried/Hilde in next chapter. But I definitely will put in some Link/Midna.**

**I hope you liked it. See ya later.**


	4. Troubles in Twilight

**Sorry for taking so long. I had computer troubles, but I got it working and that's what matters.**

**I'm sorry if I seem a bit off, on this one, but I'm suffering from a deadly disease... DAMN YOU, Writer's block.**

**Anyway, the coat Link wears later on is just like the coats Organization XIII has from Kingdom Hearts II, Read and enjoy :)**

_**Chapter IV:**_

_**Troubles In Twilight**_

XxXxX_**  
**_

"You gave us your word."

"I know I did, and I would never go back on my promises if I had a choice, but I didn't. This man was going to die in a matter of minutes."

Siegfried listened, eyes closed, as the two voices carried out their argument as if they were on the other side of a very long tunnel. All he could guess was they were both male. He couldn't tell where he was. In fact, he couldn't remember anything after he and Nightmare fought. Was this the afterlife? If it was, Hell was not what he had expected. He had expected it to be almost too hot to bear. It was only warm, and a comfortable warm at that. Like a mother's hug to her seven year old son.

"This man is from the light," the first voice hissed.

"As am I, if you remember."

"My I remind you that Turnusk…"

"Has separated from the Twilight kingdom," the second voice interrupted, "and is now an independent empire on its own and does not have any rights in this land anymore." The voice paused and then continued in a smug manner. "However, if you wish to reunite with the kingdom, I would gladly hear your case."

Siegfried heard the echoing of a man storming out of the room in a fit of rage. The sound bounced inside his head painfully.

"Delitch," Link sighed as the lord of Turnusk stormed out of the Hospital Wing.

Siegfried moaned in pain. Link looked at the knight for a moment, then told Shildow to get a doctor.

"How is he?" Midna asked as she came out of his shadow when Shildow exited the room, her hand gently on his shoulder.

Link sighed and turned to face his wife. "Why do you always do this? You know you're supposed to be resting."

Midna tweaked his nose playfully and giggled. And when he was about to insist she go back to bed she did the one thing that could make him give her whatever she wanted without any hesitation.

She scratched him behind the ears.

Link instantly forgot all bad thoughts, feelings, and pains, and every form of negative thing was erased from his mind from the moment Midna started to scratch him behind the ears, the wolf very much enjoying the attention from the Twilight queen.

"Not fair," he mumbled threw the trance he was now in and leaned into her hand, making Midna laugh. She looked around the room once, smirked, then kissed him full on the lips, still scratching him behind the ears, this time with both hands.

Shildow walked in then, but slowly, and quietly backed out again as he saw them, a large smile on his face as he closed the door without a sound. "Give them a few moments," he whispered to the doctor outside the hospital wing, the smile still plastered to his face.

Midna giggled as she stopped scratching him and pulled away from the kiss. "You are too cute when I do that," she said, her hands still on his neck.

"It's just not fair," he whispered as he came out of the trance, his eyes heavy lidded. "I can fight ferocious monsters, jump off high buildings without any injury, I can even break a curse on a beautiful princess. But when it comes to being scratched behind the ears, I'm just a peaceful wolf in love."

"You're my wolf, Link," she whispered.

"Always." Link put a gloved hand on her cheek and slowly pulled to kiss her again.

But. Shildow cleared his throat loudly at that moment as he came back in, making Midna and Link jump slightly.

"Your majesty. Doctor Heth-dun is here," he said, trying to hide a smirk by bowing.

"Thank you, Shildow," Link said, noticing the smirk on the guard's face. "You can leave."

"Oh, no, like I'm going to leave my best friend here alone with that guy," he replied, knowing full well that by 'you can leave' he was being given a choice. "We don't know if he's good or not, and if you think I'm going to leave, you must be insane." Link knew his friend's jibe was meant jokingly, just as he knew he would stay for Link's protection.

Link rolled his eyes. Then addressed the doctor. "Thank you, Doctor Heth-dun. Please run the usual tests and check-ups."

"Yes, your majesty." Heth-dun bowed. He walked over to Siegfried's body and took out his equipment. "This should only take a few minutes." He then took a good look at Siegfried's armor. "But with this armor on, it could be close to an hour."

"How so?"

"I've read about this type of armor before. It was in a book our history teachers had us read in school about the war of our people. The light dwellers used armor much like this to defend themselves against our shadow magic. And this one has a lot of that power."

"Alright. Be careful." Link turned to leave, but stopped when he saw something red in the knight's armor. He didn't know what it was, but the wolf in him was growling so much he nearly growled himself.

'_This can't be good,_' he thought. Link stepped up to Siegfried, reached down to his right shoulder, and plucked out a dully-glowing reddish-orange stone.

"I've got to check something. Let me know when he wakes up," he said as he left the Wing, putting the stone in his magic pouch. Midna and Shildow exchanged looks of confusion, but let Link walk out the double doors.

The wolf in Link was telling him one thing as he put on his jet- black coat and left the palace. '_Darkness._'

XxXxX

The towns surrounding the Twilight Palace were as alive as they always were, but none of the citizens noticed the man in black.

Xonor made his way to a bar on the outskirts of Darnasias where he would meet an informer with underworld connections. He always made regular visits with him, though this time he was arriving sooner than usual. But he needed answers and he needed them now.

Darnasias was the closest major city to the Twilight Palace and the ideal place for a Shadow Portal. Shadow Portals enabled a Twili to enter the world of Light by mixing him or herself with the shadows in that place, but it would put the Twili in a random place and only at the time of twilight.

"Someone to see you, Dawny," called a pretty waitress as she walked away from the man in black, the man's hood covering all but his mouth. "Seeker by the looks of him."

The Twili behind the bar turned around to face the man in black and a smile came to his face. "Xonor," he said with much enthusiasm.

"Hello, Lance," Xonor said, his mouth in a smile too.

"Take a seat, I'll be right with ya." Lance rubbed his hands on his already messy apron and moved to the side of the bar to take one more order.

"You want a plate of Turnusk Turkey?" the waitress asked.

"Oh, yes, thank you," he replied.

Xonor sat down in a dark part of the bar, his left hand fingers drumming on the table for no more than three seconds before he stood again.

"Yo, buddy," Lance laughed as the two embraced. They stayed there for a few seconds before sitting down on opposite sides of the table. "So, my friend, what can I do for ya?" he chuckled before saying, in a whisper, "your majesty."

"You can tell me what this is." Link took out the reddish-orange stone he found in Siegfried's armor and put it on the table.

"Wow, wudda ya know, I haven't seen one of these since I went threw a Shadow Portal for the first time, came out on the other side of the Light world." He took the stone in his hand.

"Can you tell me where it came from?" The waitress gave them both full plates of the best Turnusk Turkey. "Thank you."

"Well I can't tell you were it came from. No one, not even from your world, knows exactly were it originated, but I can tell you what it is." Lance placed the stone between his thumb and pointer finger. "See what you got here is a tainted shard from something called Soul Edge."

"A shard?" Link took a bite of his dinner, savoring the taste. "You know, if it wasn't for your background, and if you weren't such a help to me out here, I'd put you in the palace kitchens. We could liven up the council meetings with this stuff."

"Thanks for the invitation, Xonor, but I don't think many people would enjoy my company as much as you do."

Lance Dawn was an outlaw in many cities because of his underworld connections. He made a living from his inn and Link's payment for any information he might happen to have at the time of his visits.

"What is Soul Edge?" Xonor asked after taking another bite. Link used the code-name Xonor when talking to Lance for many reasons. Lance knew who he was, and he wasn't a bad guy, but if anyone saw him with an outlaw, king or no king, Link would be chased out of the Twilight.

"Soul Edge is a cursed sword said to be unbeatable. No one knows what it really looks like because it shifts forms to give the wielder an advantage. The only reason people can tell it's Soul Edge is because of a red eye on the flat of the blade."

"An eye?" Xonor looked up from his dinner, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, an eye. I don't know much else about it, The only thing I can tell you is that someone people called the Hero King took a shard of Soul Edge and purified it into a weapon he named Soul Calibur. It, too, had the power to give the wielder an advantage; it was made to keep Soul Edge in check and can only be used by someone wishing for the same thing, or more. Now, if I may ask, why are you asking me about this and how did you find a shard of that sword?"

"I'm sorry, Lance, but I can't tell you where I got the shard, only that I think both of those swords are going to be here very soon. Now, I would like to enjoy your cooking while I've got the time."

"Is it that good?"

"I've told you about the council meetings, right?"

"Yeah."

Xonor put the shard of Soul Edge in a pocket of his leather coat. "Well, this stuff could make it all worth while."

Lance smiled, then went to business.

For another hour they discussed what was happening on the other side of the law, looking for any other leads about the cursed sword. They found nothing.

Xonor paid Lance for the meal, then, with the Lance's help, opened a warp portal for the Twilight Palace where he returned to the Twilight as King Link.

XxXxX

**And, that's it. Again, sorry for being late on this chapter, I've had a combination of writers block and the memory on my laptop is half of what it needs.**

**Other then that, I have no excuse. Just let me know how you like it.**


	5. Darkness

**All I can tell you now is that this chapter is more on the dark side of the force... Oh, and it starts about an hour after Delitch leaves the palace. Enjoy.**

**P.S. Link is left-handed, he has always been left-handed, and he will be left-handed for as long as the Legend of Zelda goes on. He is unique because of the fact that he IS left-handed, and it's not because I play the Game Cube version.**

_**Chapter V:**_

_**Darkness**_

XxXxX

Delitch of Turnusk was thought by most to be a patient man, but with the King of Twilight's refusal to get rid of the light dweller he was in a fit of rage.

'_He broke his promise,_' Delitch thought as he sat on his black marble throne, his hands clenching and unclenching in tight fists. '_I will have no more to do with this so-called "_King_"._'

The Fort itself was made mostly of a rare black marble only found in certain Xownion mines. The marble was mainly used for creating homes and the mines had been led for over a year now by Link himself. But with his child on the way, he had very little time to do so anymore.

All of the many windows were draped with a dark blue silk. Its purpose was strictly beauty and decoration. In the unlikely event of a Dark Storm, thick wooden shutters closed over the windows and were backed up by Delitch's shadow magic to protect the inhabitants of the fort. A Dark Storm was a cloud of darkness that swallowed up every breathing thing in its way, and any buildings not secured into the ground would be blown over by the force of it.

The room was thirty meters square and was polished every two months for Delitch's regular balls. Now however it was covered with a long red carpet from the double doors to the throne itself. Under the windows were portraits of the early rulers of the Turnusk realm, their names and years of reign etched in plaques beneath. Some of the portraits contained images of their families as well.

The throne on which Delitch sat was built into the foundation of the fort, which ensured it would stay in place in the event of a Dark Storm, and unlike the other thrones in the Twilight, this one was highly decorated with the glowing blue symbols of the Twilight realm.

Delitch was so wrapped up in his own anger he barely noticed his royal advisor, and best friend, Niexion, approaching him. "What did he say, your Highness?" he asked after a brief, but respectful bow.

"Humph. That man is as likely to keep a promise as a Darnasion tailor," he said without looking at him.

"So, will we take action and overthrow the '_king_'?" Neixion asked.

"He has given us no other choice," he said simply. "I'm sure the Twilight can live without a light-worlder trying to infest it."

Neixion looked towards his lord, preparing himself for the order he knew was going to be given.

"He shall pay for his betrayal, Neixion. Prepare the guard for a raid on the Twilight Palace."

"If I may speak freely, my Lord? It is not that I am against putting the 'king' in his rightful place," Neixion replied, "but wouldn't doing so be considered an act of treason to the Twilight?"

"Think of it as revenge on someone who is willing to destroy his realm."

"Very good, My Lord."

"Oh, how I love revenge," came a voice as deep as the abyss, and more dangerous. Delitch and Neixion looked around for the sound of the voice, Delitch rising from his throne.

"Who are you?" Delitch yelled in demand.

"A friend," the voice stated casually, or as casual as could be when one has a voice as dark as this one did.

"Show yourself," the Twili shouted.

"As you wish." As soon as the being came out of the shadows though, Delitch wished he could go to the safety of his room, lock and barricade the door, and shrink into a dark corner. For in front of him stood a monster with glowing, blood-red eyes, something of a horn on its black/blue helmet, and a giant sword capable of cutting through any form of weapon put against it rested in a humanoid left hand. But the feature that made its horrifying appearance complete was the deformed, three-fingered claw where its right arm should have been.

"What is it?" That voice, oh, that voice sent cold shivers scurrying down the two Twili's spines.

"Guards," Delitch feebly said after recovering somewhat from his shock.

Nightmare smirked behind his helmet. It was pathetic, really, how these Shadow dwellers couldn't take in something that looked like he did. "I'm not sure they heard you," he said mockingly.

Delitch looked away from Nightmare's eyes and took a few deep breaths threw his nose, attempting to slow the rapid beating of his heart. It didn't work as well as he intended.

Neixion, however, had seen far worse than the thing in front of him during his times in the Shadow Portals and recovered much quicker then his lord. "Who are you to barge into a royal's throne room uninvited?" he asked calmly, but firmly, looking him in the eyes.

"Oh, but I _was_ invited," Nightmare said, slightly impressed by Neixion's courage. He used his three-fingered claw to point outside the large doors at the end of the hall. It wasn't two seconds later when four of Delitch's men entered carrying what appeared to be an unconscious light dwelling female. They walked past Nightmare as if he wasn't even there and put her down at the base of the steps to the throne.

"I understand you want a certain light-dwelling knight out of this realm," Nightmare continued, his abyss-like voice still discomforting the two Twili, and his blood red eyes never leaving Delitch. "I took the liberty of finding you a way to do that." He pointed down the unconscious female. "This. This is how you can do that."

The woman on the floor had long red hair that reached just beyond her shoulders. The silver armor she wore was dented and scratched from what looked to be a recent fight. The armor at her right shoulder was designed with a wolf's head baring its teeth. The left probably held the same markings but was covered with a rich red cloth. She had the same rich red clothing underneath her armor, and the scabbard of a short sword could be seen at her left side.

"What are you?" Delitch asked, finally gaining the courage to look Nightmare in the eyes.

"I am many things," Nightmare replied. He nodded his head and the guards left the room, a strange red glow now emitting from their eyes. "And as of now, one of those things is your helper."

"How could you ever possibly be of any help to us?" Delitch raised his eyebrows in a challenge.

"You want that man out of your realm. I want him out of the picture. If you want him to leave you will need leverage." The woman began to wake. "Oh, right on time. Lord Delitch of the Turnusk empire, I'd like you to meet Princess Hilde of the kingdom Wolfcrone."

Hilde opened her hazel eyes and nearly cried out in pain. Her left leg was broken and her right arm twisted.

"_If I am right, Siegfried will do anything to save her. If you play your cards right Siegfried will simply walk into your grasp._" Ganondorf had said this to him in the Wolfcrone palace throne room before they had entered the Twilight, corpses surrounding them as he had handed the unconscious princess to Nightmare.

"Where am I?" she asked as she looked around the room, somewhat dazed and clutching her arm. Her eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat as the two Twili came into her sight. The one in front of what looked like a throne had pale, unmatched eyes. His left was green, and his right was sunset red. His clothing was rich looking and a jet-black cape flowed down from his shoulders. His hair was short and red. The man to his left was taller than he, and could have been an albino, for his eyes were pink. He wore what looked to be a simple councilor's uniform and his hair was long and black. Both had pale blue skin.

Hilde turned her head and saw Nightmare. "YOU!" she shouted. She tried to stand, but her broken leg would not support her frame and she fell to the floor, gasping in pain and trying to support herself with her good arm.

"Now, princess," Nightmare said evilly. "I suggest you calm down. We wouldn't want to injure that leg of yours even more now, would we?"

"I swear to you, Nightmare, if it is not I who kills you, Sir Schtauffen shall."

" '_Sir_' Schtauffen? My, my, I must admit I have been foolish not to see what he could." Nightmare laughed as he spoke.

"What are you talking about?" Delitch asked in demand. "How can this be leverage to us?" He pointed a finger to Hilde.

" '_Sir_ Schtauffen', as she puts it, is the one in the palace. If you want him to leave, you must manipulate his feelings."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you really that thick? Do you want Schtauffen out of your realm or don't you?"

"I want _you_ to leave my realm." Delitch pointed his finger towards the doors. "You can take the girl as well. I will not consult with any Light dwellers."

"Oh, I don't think you are in a position to give _me_ any orders." Nightmare casually tossed Soul Edge into his right claw, raised his left hand, and snapped his metal-gloved fingers.

The eye of Soul Edge opened wide, veins pulsing into its center, and rolled in its socket to look at Delitch. Delitch felt strange. The only description for what was seeping into his very soul right now would be emptiness, or pure darkness.

"As you can feel now," Nightmare said as he slowly walked towards him, "you have nothing. And I can take away even more with a snap of my fingers." Delitch fell to his knees and clutched his stomach, feeling a fire burning him from the inside.

"Now listen closely, Twili. I am in a good mood right now, so consider yourself lucky." Nightmare switched Soul Edge back into his left hand. The eye's evil glow dwindled and the uncomfortable feeling within Delitch vanished. "Consider yourself lucky I'm not going kill you for your ignorance."

Neixion helped his lord stand and moved him to sit on the marble throne.

"All you have to do to keep me in this mood is exactly what I say without any hesitation or objection." Nightmare picked up a struggling Hilde easily with his claw. "Now, you will take the princess here, go to the palace, and cause a distraction in order for me to enter unnoticed, but let _me_ kill the king of Twilight."

Delitch and Neixion looked up at the creature in front of them.

"You will do so, _Lord_ Delitch." Nightmare dropped Hilde, none too gently, on the floor in front of the steps before the throne. "If you do not, your friend's soul here shall be mine."

Delitch looked at Neixion out of the corner of his eyes. His best friend. From what little he knew of the thing in front of them, he knew it wasn't lying.

"What's it going to be, Delitch?"

Delitch took a breath to give his answer.

XxXxX

"Your majesty," a young man yelled as he came in from the hospital wing. "The light dwell- … the knight is awake." He bowed in apology.

"Thank you, Motus," Link replied as he sat, rather uncomfortably, on his throne. He was still not used to the power he held simply by sitting on this one piece of black marble. "You can leave."

Accustomed to being given a choice, the Twili bowed respectfully. "Thank you, you majesty." With that, and before Link could ask him to call him by his name, Motus left the throne room, back to his private class with Doctor Heth-dun. Motus Deeth was Heth-dun's apprentice, and according to the doctor, was showing great progress in his work.

Looking to his left, Link saw Midna sitting on an identical throne with her hand placed on her ever-growing stomach.

'_Almost nine months,_' he thought. '_That's how long it's been since we found out she was pregnant. And now, all because there is a knight from my world lying, almost dead, in the hospital wing she might not live long enough to give birth._' Many other thoughts swirled around his mind in growing fear of what he didn't do, and what his archenemy, Ganondorf, was willing to do. Needless to say, Link was worrying much more for his family than usual.

Like the Turnusk fort, the walls along the side of the throne room were decorated with portraits of past rulers. Unlike the Turnusk Empire, which elected its rulers, the Twilight Palace went by bloodline, which was kept track of by a tree painting along the ceiling. The most elegant, and by far the most viewed of the paintings was of Midna's late parents, which hung behind the two thrones in a large, golden-rimmed frame. Her parents were from different parts of the Twilight and the marriage brought peace to the two sides, which had been arguing for centuries.

"We'd better see to it," said Midna, knocking Link out of his thoughts.

"No," he replied, "I'll see to it. You stay here in case someone needs anything." Link stood and straightened out his tunic.

Midna tried to stand, but felt a small kick inside her womb and sat back down, a smile on her face.

Link kissed her cheek and walked out a door in the side of the room, which led straight to the Wing. It was recently added by Link a few months ago when one of the staff accidentally cut one of the delicates of the Xownion castle with a dinner knife in one of the vital organs.

'_Yeeeaaaahh. That didn't go too well,_' he thought in remembrance of his first dinner party as king.

Link walked down the dark stone passageway deep in thought, pondering what Delitch might do to his family, the Twili bowing their heads as he passed. He didn't care what happened to him himself, he just couldn't bear to lose his family when it would be all but complete in a few more days.

The Hospital Wing wasn't crowded as Link entered. It never was. There were rarely more than two patients at a time. Twili can't get sick, their magic didn't allow it, but there were reasons for having the Hospital Wing. Mainly pregnancy and spell misfires but there were other possibilities and it never hurt to be safe.

"Your majesty," Heth-dun bowed. Link sighed. "Sorry," he added in a mutter.

"It's alright," Link replied with a smile, "How's Motus doing with his training?"

"He's showing great progress, Link." If the doctor was anything, he was proud of his apprentice.

"Well, he has a good teacher," Link said, putting a hand on Heth-dun's shoulder, then letting it drop to his side.

"Thank you," the doctor said, unable to keep a small smile from coming to his face.

They walked down the aisle of empty beds until they reached the knight, who was sitting up, his eyes taking in every large and small detail, but not looking for any means of escape. Link didn't miss Shildow, hiding in one of the secret tunnels watching, ready to protect his king and friend at a moment's notice.

Siegfried waited patiently as the two walked up in front of the bed. The taller of the two he remembered as the first being he saw in the realm of Twilight. The shorter of the two was one he guessed was from the light, but his skin suggested he hadn't seen any sunlight in at least a year.

But a very faint memory was stirring in Siegfried's mind. The memory of a young man that looked exactly like the man in front of him, only in a green tunic, came flooding into Siegfried's mind. Memories of a long and hard battle while he was still a puppet of Soul Edge entered his head.

In the end, Siegfried, or Nightmare as he was back then, was defeated and forced to retreat into the Ostrheinsberg ruins while the youth took and destroyed the fragments he was about to complete Soul Edge with.

'_I guess I owe both of these men something,_' Siegfried thought, knowing this was the man who saved him.

Indeed, the resemblance between this young man, and the youth he now knew was called the Hero of Time was unquestionable. It was apparent how the two were related. Had it not been for the dark man he would have had doubts, though.

His clothing matched the Hero of Time's with one exception, and that was the color of it. The one from his memories was plain green; this one was black with silver laces and trims. The Hero had golden blonde hair. This one had sandy blonde heir. And the eyes in this one held a fury in them the likes of which Siegfried had never seen in any man. They held a deep kindness in them, yes, but something else was there too. Another presence, something like the wild instincts of an animal rested in those blue eyes.

Link was the first to speak. "I am Link, King of the Twilight. You are in Doctor Heth-dun's hospital wing," he gestured to his left, where Heth-dun was standing.

Siegfried bowed his head, knowing the respectful way to address royalty.

To his surprise, however, Link walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Please don't," he said with a smile. "I'm only King by marriage, not by blood. So you don't have to bow to me."

Siegfried looked at Link, shocked but grateful he didn't have to talk with his head to the floor.

But still.

"No," he said, taking off Link's hand and getting out of the bed he was in. Standing beside his bed, he bowed in the most respectful way he could. On one knee, his hand over his heart and his head low. "I know you," he said. "You're the one who saved me, aren't you?"

Siegfried didn't wait for an answer and continued as Link backed up a few steps. "In payment of this debt, I, Siegfried Schtauffen offer to you my service. In living, or dying, until my lord..."

"Okay, okay," Link stopped him, waving both his hands, gesturing with a ceasing motion. "I get it. I get it."

'_Well, _that's_ something that doesn't happen often,_' Link thought. '_At least I can ask him about that... that thing Lance told me about. What was it called? Soul Edge? Yeah. Soul Edge. Wonder what it is._'

Although he wanted to know what Soul Edge was, Link decided to ask another question first.

"Way are you submitting yourself to servitude?"

Siegfried looked at him with a confused look on his face. "You saved me," he said. "I must repay such a dept with my services."

"Oh," Link said flatly. A look of 'oh, crap' came across the young ruler's features.

Siegfried looked at the young man. At first he had thought the King of Twilight would be selfish and eager for someone to control. After Link looked shocked at his offer he thought he was new to the whole thing. However, now he knew exactly what kind of man was in front of him.

One who did _not_ like being the center of attention!

A small silence fallowed as Link gathered his thoughts. Finally, he spoke.

"I would like you to tell me everything you know about a sword by the name of 'Soul Edge', and everything you wish to tell me about that three-fingered thing you were fighting atop that tower." To Siegfried's shocked expression, he added. "I can tell how I know that if you want to."

Siegfried was indeed shocked. The tower he fought Nightmare on was unknown to most, if not all, the world. The tower really belonged to none other than the Hero King, Algol himself. But then, he reasoned, he did know of visions and those the gods chose to show them to.

Siegfried, bound by his word, stood and took off Soul Calibur from his shoulder (the wolf in Link sensed Shildow tense up), and showed it to Link.

"This is Soul Edge's opposite," he began. "Soul Edge itself is something not to be taken lightly." He put Soul Calibur back over his left shoulder and continued. "Soul Edge has been around sense the gods created man, it is a cursed sword only meant to be used by a monster, and if you're not..." Siegfried glanced at his right hand with his eyes, something Link noticed with interest. "It will make you one."

Link looked at Soul Calibur. "This is a long shot," Link said. He too, glanced at Siegfried's hand. "But, is it possible that Soul Edge to create a body for itself?" When Siegfried nodded in return, he continued. "And if say, you once used the sword for a while, but managed to free yourself, that monster I saw you fighting would be your, past?" Link looked into Siegfried's eyes and saw all he needed to know.

'_I should listen to that wolf more often,_' he thought, now slightly more interested in the shadow wolf that now rested near the back of his heart.

"Yes," Siegfried said, somewhat sadly. "I once used Soul Edge, and turned into the monster you saw. I searched it out to find my father's killer. I found it on a wrecked pirate ship next to the corpse of Cervantes De Leon, before I could grasp its hilt, the corpse was possessed by a demon and attacked me. After I slay the demon, I walked over to Soul Edge and vowed to hunt down the killer and avenge my father's death.

"The instant I grabbed the hilt, though, a voice echoed in my head, telling me the only way to get my father back was to feed souls to the sword. Being a foolish youth, I did just what it said and killed thousands of innocents for my selfish reasons. It was then when I no longer wielded Soul Edge, it wielded me. Four years later, before I could complete the sword, two people with Soul Calibur came and defeated me. After that, memories of all I had done came back and I chose then I would take Soul Edge and see no more hurt by it. But every time I woke up I was surrounded by corpses. The sword took over my body while I slept and I slowly fell back into its grip again. Four years later, I found the last of the shards of Soul Edge and all the souls necessary to complete it, but that was when a young man about your age came and fought me,. If I remember correctly it was a very long fight.

"I was defeated and lost the shards of Soul Edge. It was then I fled to the ruins of Ostrheinsberg Castle, where in my weakened state, I was attacked by a Frenchman, but I was the victor. I was about to kill him when my body froze as I fought against the sword. The man, seeing my hesitation, put one last attack through the eye of the cursed sword. I killed Nightmare through the power of my heart and my sanity was given back to me. Soul Calibur appeared after that. Without any second thoughts, I stabbed it through the eye of Soul Edge."

Siegfried looked at both Link and the doctor to make sure they were still with him. They showed some confusion, but it looked like they were still following his story. So he continued.

"After that, Nightmare and Soul Edge were revived, by whom, I don't know, but since then he and I have crossed paths and swords many times."

Link had a thoughtful look on his face for a moment, his left hand rubbing his chin before glancing at the hilt of Soul Calibur. "So, let me get this straight, there is more than one Soul Calibur?"

"Well, there was more then one," Siegfried said, his face screwed up in thought. "Until, like Soul Edge's male/female counterparts, they formed as one. I can't really see why it chose me to wield it, but I am the only one who has Soul Calibur now."

"I see. So, you're the only one who can defeat Soul Edge then?" Link ventured a guess.

"Yes," he replied. "Soul Calibur is the only thing that can destroy Soul Edge for good."

Link nodded his head slowly. "So, why are you here?" he asked.

"After I thought I killed Nightmare, a man came to me and asked if I would help him in revenge."

Link's eyes widened slightly, the wolf growling loudly. "Did this man have red hair?" Siegfried nodded. "Yellow eyes?" Another nod. "Very tall with three triangles in a pyramid shape on the back of his right hand?"

"I have a feeling you know this man."

"Oh, I do," Link cracked his knuckles. "I know him very well."

"May I ask a question?" Siegfried said.

Link couldn't help himself. "You just did," he said with a smile. Siegfried raised his eyebrows and Heth-dun rolled his eyes. "But just one more," Link said.

"Thank you," Siegfried said flatly. "He said he was chosen by the gods and that there were three altogether. What did he mean?"

Link sighed. "Darn, Ganondorf," he mumbled. Then he spoke clearly. "Sir Siegfried, there is an artifact out there in the World of Light, where we come from, called the Triforce. It holds a portion of the powers of the three golden goddesses. The Triforce is made up of three golden triangles in a pyramid pattern that appears on the back of the chosen one's sword hand."

Link showed Siegfried the back of his left hand and clenched it into a fist. Three triangles in a pyramid pattern appeared on the back of his hand, only the bottom right one shone with a golden light though.

Link dropped his hand back to his side and the light died.

"There was only one lit," Siegfried pointed out.

"Yes," Link said, "But the Triforce is made of three parts. I have one of those three, the Triforce of Courage."

A small silence followed as both men took in what the other had said. Link was about to ask another question concerning Soul Edge and Ganondorf when the doors of the Wing burst open to admit an alarming number of wounded Twili. Heth-dun rushed over and asked the first doctor he saw what was going on.

The question was answered for Link when Neixion approached him, holding his near-dead daughter in his arms until he put her down on the bed next to them.

"It's Delitch," he gasped out. Neixion was cut and bruised and bleeding from more places Link could count and very out of breath. "He's dead."

XxXxX

_Delitch took a breath to give his answer._

_What he said shocked and angered Nightmare to no end._

"_You can take your offer, and shove it," he said firmly._

_Nightmare lost control and roared in anger. The eye of Soul Edge seemed to leak out an evil aura. Delitch felt his soul emptying again, but this time he was ready for it and used his shadow magic like a shield against the darkness. Shadow-like flames surrounded Delitch and a mocking smile played on his lips._

"_It's true I didn't like the thought of a light-dweller as our king," he said firmly and with no fear. "But if the likes of YOU wants him dead, then it seems that I have misjudged him. To make up to my king, I will stop you."_

_Delitch charged Nightmare, ignoring Neixion's warnings to stop, and prepared a shadow sphere._

_Delitch let the ball fly and it hit Nightmare in the face. Nightmare took a step back but seemed unfazed. Delitch ran faster. Nightmare twirled Soul Edge around his head once, and brought it down with his left hand, point down. When it made contact with the marble, fire erupted from the ground and sent an explosion-like field out from around him. The explosion hit Delitch hard and he was set ablaze as he was thrown back. But no one else was harmed._

_Neixion had seen enough and sent his own shadow bolt flying across to meet Nightmare squire in the chest. Nightmare again stumbled back but quickly regained his footing. Delitch stood and spread his arms out, extinguishing the flames with his shadow magic._

_Neixion took Hilde by both arms and led her to the exit, but Nightmare blocked his path. "I don't think so." He swung his great sword and missed Neixion's neck by a mere inch. "You will not forestall my revenge!" he said with satisfaction when Neixion lost his footing and fell to the ground, still holding on to the light world princess._

"_And you will not harm my friend," Delitch leaped threw the air and grabbed onto Nightmare's neck, maneuvering himself so he was choking Nightmare from behind._

_Nightmare was stunned for a moment, but only just. Not really needing to breathe, it had little effect on him. His claw reached up, grabbed Delitch by the head, and threw him across the room to collide forcefully with his throne.._

_Nightmare imbedded Soul Edge in the ground, then he picked Neixion off the floor with his claw and Hilde with his left hand. He hurled Neixion to the throne too. Neixion hit Delitch hard before both of them slumped to the marble floor. Hilde tried to get away from him, but Nightmare was much too strong for her._

"_Did you really think you could do me harm?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. "I know of your powers and they are pitiful. I'm not even using my full strength."_

_Delitch stood tall, readying another shadow sphere in his hands. Neixion stood beside him._

"_Here's my new offer, _'My lord.'_ I will let your people live, for now. You have fifteen of my minutes to get everyone you can in this fort out. Anyone left behind will feed my thirst, and I do mean everyone. And in return, I get this fort for my own."_

"_Not a chance," Delitch yelled. He threw the sphere at Nightmare, who held up Hilde to shield himself from the magic. Hilde yelled out in pain and tears fell from her eyes as the magic hit her._

_Nightmare laughed in amusement as Delitch held his new sphere in his hands. "Even IF you could do me harm, it wouldn't make any difference. I know you wouldn't harm an innocent bystander purposefully. You're pathetic in that sense."_

"_Pretty tough coming from someone hiding behind a human shield," Neixion called from across the hall, his own sphere held at the ready._

"_It's not too late to accept my deal," he replied. "And I'll even throw in an extra bonus. I will give you five more minutes to clear out this fortress, and I may consider freeing the guards I have taken in to my... employment." He smirked at the last part._

_Delitch thought for a moment, weighing his options. If the two of them, he and Neixion, continued to fight, the girl in Nightmare's claw would just get hurt even more. But if they didn't fight he would lose his fortress and very well might lose some of his citizens to whatever was in front of them and it would put the entire Twilight at risk. And his magic didn't seem to have much of an effect on it either way._

_But there was always the King._

_As he had said before, Delitch vowed to redeem himself to his King._

_And destroying the evil that now threatened everything both the King and Queen did so much to protect was the way to do that._

"_Neixion," he said, "Take everyone you can out of this fort." He smiled. "It is about to become a graveyard."_

"_No, I won't..." Neixion began._

"_As my friend," Delitch said calmly. "Please, take my family out of here, and take my place as soon as the true King of Twilight returns peace to his world." He looked at his friend and smiled. "And thank you."_

_Neixion was about to respond, but chose to honor his friend and nodded. He ran threw the doors at the side of the room, leaving the words that he hoped were not the last to his best friend: "Take him down."_

_Nightmare stood in shock as Neixion ran out to fulfill his lord's last wishes. His attention was brought back to Delitch, who was now holding a weapon. An unimpressive sword, it looked mostly for decoration, but the Twili held it with courage in his eyes._

_He prepared one last shadow sphere and looked Nightmare dead in the eyes. Nightmare sensed a last move and threw Hilde out of the battle line._

"_GET OUT OF MY HOME, YOU FREAK." Delitch yelled as he charged the evil that was Soul Edge._

XxXxX

Link starred at Neixion. Nightmare was here, in the Twilight Realm? This was not good!

He looked around. Twili Doctor's were treating patients with their Shadow Magic wherever there was space. A young Twili on the bed Siegfried once rested in clutched a giant wound in her side. She looked no more than ten years old.

"Do you think he made it out all right?" he asked the albino without turning.

"I think it was only meant as a diversion," he replied, placing his hand on the child's shoulder, his daughter. "But I don't think so. Our magic couldn't even scratch him."

"Nightmare draws his power from the darkness." Siegfried spoke up, his arms crossed. He had remained silent throughout the telling of Nightmare's attack on the Turnuskion fortress and finally decided to throw his two cents into the conversation. "Light has the strongest affect on him, though anything will work if you know where he places his power." He looked at Link for a moment before looking back to Neixion, who was leaning forward slightly to hear Nightmare's weakness.

"Did you notice the eye on his blade?" he asked the two.

"That's his weakness, isn't it?" Link asked, "And… where he is most powerful?"

Siegfried nodded, a look of anger flashed across his handsome features. "If you look into the eye too long, Soul Edge will gain a direct route to your mind. It will plant ideas into your mind and they will slowly grow, filling your head until you're a servant of the sword." He shook his head, looking at his feet. "Nothing good can come out of that monstrosity!"

A silence filled the hall. The only sounds were the wounded Twili begging the doctors to heal their friends first, only to make a painful groan or small scream.

"Well, then that settles it," Link said suddenly. A lopsided grin filled his face as the wolf in him sensed a fight.

"That settles what?" Neixion asked, looking up from his daughter.

"We, as in, you and me, Siegfried, will simply go to Turnusk, fight this 'Nightmare' guy, and win." Link smiled. "Nothing to it!" He turned and walked to the throne room, "You can take him to the kitchens for some of those healing fruits, Motus. We leave in fifteen minutes," he called back.

Siegfried looked at Neixion. "Is he always this… positive?"

"Only when he's not fighting some monster or saving some princess," he replied.

At the mention of the word, Siegfried's gaze faltered. "Do you think he will bring her harm? Princess Hilde?"

Neixion thought for a moment, sure he knew the woman. Finally, he spoke. "I would be lying if I told you that I didn't think so."

Siegfried tried to remain calm and unreadable, but his feelings for the princess were getting the better of him and he started to breathe faster through his nose.

He was about to follow Link to the throne room when the doors burst open to reveal a frantic looking Slidow. Slidow ran directly to Heth-dun, almost out of breath.

"What in Twilight is the matter?" Heth-dun asked.

"You're gonna need another bed and a lot of your staff at the ready," he replied, trying to regain his breath.

"Why? Was there another Twili injured?"

"No, but Link is soon to be when her majesty is through with him!"

Heth-dun's eyes narrowed. "What did he do?" he asked.

"It's not so much as what he did so much as what he said he was going to do. He told her he was going to fight the monster in that vision he had."

"And in her current state she's not going to take that well," Heth-dun said. He turned to Motus. "You'd better get another bed ready." Motus, who had been listening, ran around the room looking for a bed or a Twili ready to give one up.

"We'd better make sure she doesn't kill him by accident," Heth-dun said before running off with Shildow to the throne room.

Siegfried looked at Neixion. "Just how powerful is Her Majesty?"

"Well, let's just say that if you were an enemy, you _would not_ want to get her mad!" he replied, "Because she can kill you with one blast of her magic if she's really focused. The blood of the true leaders of Twilight runs through her veins."

"Should I go help him?"

"Only if you want your head blown off," he replied bluntly.

Siegfride raised an eyebrow. "But won't she hurt him?"

"Not intentionally, no. He'll be fine so long as his training is true."

A loud bang echoed through the Wing. Motus walked by the bed where they were standing and sighed in relief. "He's fine," he said. "After one blast, she comes to realize what she did. She stops, kisses him until or if he can stop her. Aaaannd then we go about our lives once again."

"I take it this has happened before," Siegfried said, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Well, the Twili handle pregnancy much differently then the women of the Light World. If I could say better I would, but Her majesty doesn't handle it like most women. It's the mix of light and shadows that have her emotions flying all over the place. She can get very affectionate with him. Sometimes she won't even let him go see Lance." The young Twili shrugged. "We don't know why, but we think it has something to do with the mixes of light and… you get the idea."

Siegfried nodded, but didn't fully understand. He bowed his head to the doctor-in-training and left the Wing. Two seconds later he came back into the Wing and walked towards Motus.

"Could you show me where the kitchens are, please?" he asked. Motus rolled his eyes and lead Siegfried out of the Wing.

"How long have they been wed?"

Motus hesitated, unsure if he should answer. After a few steps, he spoke. "I think I should let His or Her Majesty tell you when they wish you to know."

"I can respect that."

_-In the throne room-_

"Oh, Link, I'm so sorry," Midna cried. She ran to where he lay flat on the floor and hugged him. Midna had thrown a powerful magic blast and Link's only hope was to fall flat on his back. The sphere flew over his body but still managed to slow his mind down to the point where he could barely think.

She put a hand to his head and quickly whispered a spell to reverse the effects of her first 'attack'.

The first thing Link noticed was his wife's eyes, a beautiful sunset red, and full of concern.

"Oh, Link, please forgive me. It's just this whole pregnancy thing has my emotions all over the place, and you leaving to fight something you don't know anything about is just..." She got no farther then that, for a feeling she never wanted to lose had just closed her lips in a warm kiss.

Link pulled away and shook his head to rid himself of the dizziness from his wife's spell. Then he smiled and chuckled. "And just what's so funny?" Midna asked with a little edge to her voice.

"Nothing," he said, his smile faded and he looked her in the eyes. "You just talk too much." His left hand found its way to the back of her neck and pulled her face to his lips for another of their moments of bliss.

This would have gone on for a while but Shildow, who had been watching for a few seconds, cleared his throat rather loudly.

Link and Midna broke their kiss and looked at where Shildow stood, Link having to bend his neck farther since he was on the ground. Shildow stood wearing his Palace Guard uniform with a rapier hanging by his side. One of Shildow's leadership qualities as Palace Guard was his skill with a blade.

"You have something of such importance that you see it fit to interrupt me?"

"Actually, you do," he said with a small smile. "I think it had something to do with fighting some thingamabobber you saw in a vision or something at the Turnuskion fortress."

"Shildow, before I got here you didn't even know what a 'thingamabober' was," Link replied with his own smile.

"Well, I like it. What are you gonna do?" he teased. The smile faded away from the Twili's handsome face and he was serious. "But that's beside the point, and you know it."

Link sighed, letting his head slump down to the floor. "Get out," he said, pointing to the door.

Shildow chuckled, then turned to leave. As he exited the room, Midna looked at Link with a playful look in her eyes. However Link, now remembering why he was there in the first place, quickly got up, taking Midna with him, and walked to the throne.

"Midna," he said after placing her on her throne and kneeling in front of her. "Like you said, I have to go fight him, even if it means I won't come back." He stopped her from speaking with a gentle hand over her mouth. "But that doesn't mean I will not!" He smiled and looked down to her large belly. "I have too much to live for."

Midna smiled behind Link's hand. She still worried for him, though, despite Link's reassuring words. She used her own hand to move his away from her mouth, holding it like it was a silver rupee.

"When will you come home and stay home?" she asked sadly after a small silence. Link's smile faltered.

He sighed and looked at the floor. "When the job is done," he said sadly. He looked back to Midna and gave her a lopsided smile.

In the back of his mind though, he knew it wouldn't be over until all the evil in all the worlds, even the ones he didn't know of, was gone.

After a short silence, they shared their last kiss and he left the throne room.

_-Fifteen minutes later outside the Palace gates-_

Siegfried gagged again before he drank some more of the water they had packed for the long walk to the Turnusk Fort. It had only been a few minutes since Siegfried had had Twili food, but the bitter taste still lingered in his mouth.

"How long did it take you to get used to this?" he asked for perhaps the tenth time.

Link sighed and stopped walking. "Siegfried, I have said it once, and I will say it again, you just get used to it!" Over Link's back was a black one-handed sword. The sword was made for him by Midna after their first month as husband and wife. The blade was made of a combination of a black marble and an iron found in the mines he led every week. It was very sturdy and could do a lot of damage. The hand-guard was decorated with a wolf's head through the center of the Triforce. All of it was black aside from the Triforce itself.

"Still, the food from our world seems so much more, tasteful."

"That's because we are used to the food from the light. The sun dose not shine here, at all, so the food is a little less 'tastey' then it might be in the World of Light. Please, can we just get to the Fortress?"

"Alright, alright." Siegfried took one last sip of water and ceased his complaints.

_-About two minutes later-_

"Is this it?" Siegfried asked calmly as the three of them stood outside the black fortress.

"Yup," Shildow replied flatly.

"Think we should knock first?" Link asked jokingly. He chuckled as the other two simply stared at him. Link stopped his light laughter and walked to the door, where he knocked on the door. "Oop, no one home. We must see if anyone is injured."

Link opened the large double doors as Siegfried gave a confused look to Shildow, who simply shook his head and followed Link into the fortress entrance hall.

What met the trio was the grossest thing they had ever seen. Not only were there corpses lying all over the ground, but an eerie blue glow seeped from the dead bodies.

"Link," Shildow yelled, pointing towards the throne not far away. There, sitting on the throne, holding a limp female body in its humanoid left hand, sat Nightmare, or to be more specific from Siegfried's point of view, Soul Edge.

"So, you did come after all." At first, Link didn't know whether to laugh at the ridiculously deep voice or not, but a quick shake of Shildow's head answered his unasked question.

"Nightmare," Link said with exaggerated calmness. "You're shorter then I expected you to be."

Nightmare chuckled lightly, dropped the woman rather roughly beside the throne, and pointed above the double doors. "I was expecting you," he said.

Shildow was the first to look. When he did, he almost screamed. "Do I want to look?" Link asked.

"No," was the first, and last thing out of Shildow's mouth.

But, Link looked anyway.

"And what was he?" he asked after biting back the urge to throw up.

"Simply a pastime," Nightmare chuckled.

Delitch hung above the doors. His own sword was stuck threw his stomach and blood oozed from so many places they couldn't count all the cuts. They turned away from the gruesome sight.

Link looked at Siegfried with an eyebrow raised. "This, this is what you were when you had that Edge thingy?" he said.

"Pretty much," he replied absently. He was more interested in the limp female body by the stone chair. There lay Princess Hilde of the kingdom of Wolfcrone.

Nightmare caught his eye and grinned. "Well, well, well. The creator of all evil and the princess. The perfect couple."

Siegfried snapped at his words. "SHUT UP," he yelled as he drew Soul Calibur from his back. Nightmare stood slowly from his sitting position and drew Soul Edge. The two swords radiated a powerful force as they sensed each other's presence.

Siegfried rushed Nightmare, or tried to. Nightmare turned his sword sideways and deflected Siegfried's reckless charge and countered with his own attack. Siegfried's armor protected him but it wouldn't work forever.

Link sighed and rushed to Siegfried's aid.

Link attacked with his own sword and hit Nightmare in the back. It didn't seem to faze him and he attacked with his own strike. Link was not there, however. He had rolled around and had attacked Nightmare's back once more, trying to weaken a single spot by attacking it over and over again.

Nightmare roared in anger and swung his blade in a 360-degree movement, cutting off Link's exits. He would've been hit but Shildow's sword was in the way of the attack. The small blade was snapped in half by the sure force of Soul Edge, but saved Link from the fate Soul Edge would've given him.

Nightmare threw his claw around and hit Link into Shildow hard, throwing them both back against a wall, Link nearly dropping his sword in the process.

"Thanks," he said to Shildow.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

Siegfried attacked Nightmare this time. Nightmare backed off a few steps from the sudden move, but then held his ground. They engaged one another for a few seconds using similar fighting styles before Nightmare felt a familiar sting against his right arm. Shildow had sent a blast of shadow magic his way.

Nightmare kicked out to Siegfried, who was hit hard in the stomach and sent reeling back. Link ran up and performed a spinning attack in mid air. Nightmare ducked and used his right arm to deliver a powerful uppercut to Link's ribs. He was sent flying up and over Nightmare and onto one of the window ledges.

"You do look exactly like that green-clothed elf," Nightmare chuckled in amusement. "But you don't have even a third of his strength!"

Link looked down at Nightmare. Then, he got an idea.

Link sheathed his sword and jumped to where Delitch's body hung. He took the sword from his chest and the red ring from his right hand.

"I'm sorry, Delitch," he said. He put his hand on Delitch's chest, the Twili sign to give peace to the dead. After a few seconds of honoring Delitch's life, Link looked down and saw Siegfried and Nightmare fighting once more. Shildow stood at a distance holding a shadow sphere looking for an opening to attack Nightmare without harming Siegfried in any way.

'_I really hope this works,_' he thought before throwing the sword down towards Nightmare. "HEADS UP," he yelled before throwing the ring in Shildow's direction. Luckily, Shildow caught the ring while Nightmare was dodging the sword.

"You do realize the point of a sneak attack is to NOT draw attention to the victim," Nightmare laughed after kicking Siegfried in the face, sending blood spewing from his nose.

"Or," Link corrected, "You can distract your opponent to cover up the REAL sneak attack." He pointed to Shildow. "NOW!"

Nightmare looked just in time to see Shildow throw the ring high into the air and shoot a shadow sphere at the small red object. The sphere made contact with the ring and an explosion erupted from where the ring once was.

Link grabbed Delitch's body and jumped down from where he hung. He heard Nightmare's cry of anger before he and the limp body of the great leader hit the ground and debris fell on top of them.

XxXxX

About half an hour later Link was shaken awake by Siegfried, Soul Calibur held tight in his left hand as dry blood covered most of his face from the nose down.

Link smiled as well as his beaten face would allow. "Did we beat him?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Siegfried shook his head slowly and looked down. Siegfried's face and body were chalk-white or black from the explosion's dust, except for the dried blood. Link looked down too and noticed Delitch was still there next to him, not too damaged but he did look worse. Both he and Link were covered with the same dust as Siegfried.

"Unfortunately, no," Siegfried said stonily.

"What about that princess of yours?" Link asked.

Siegfried gave a faint smile. "She's right here." And sure enough, Princess Hilde of Wolfcrone was lying beside him, not too hurt, but still looked like she could use medical attention.

Link thought for a moment to clear his brain. He put a hand to his head. "What about Shildow? Is he here?"

Siegfried shook his head this time, but a small smile still played at his lips. "He told me he was going on ahead to keep Nightmare busy until we could get there. He said something about finding a secret passage."

"Yeah," Link said slowly, "He does know the passages of the Twilight Realm better than anyone."

"Are all the Twili that strong?" Siegfried asked as he helped Link to his feet. "That was one big explosion!"

"Well, yes and no. Yes the Twili are powerful, but only a select few can do so much damage, and no because that had mostly do to with the ring. Delitch always carried some form of secret protection."

"How did you know it was the ring?"

Link rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at Siegfried. "Weeellll, that was more of a lucky guess than knowledge."

"Oookaayy. Let's get going," Siegfried said. He lay Hilde down gently on the marble and stood up. He held out his hand to Link, who took it, and the two of them set out for the Twilight Palace at top speed.

XxXxX

Link and Siegfried took a few deep breaths to calm themselves after the run from Turnuskion fortress. Link turned his head to Siegfried. "This is it," he said, "No turning back. It's gonna be all or nothing. Victory, or oblivion."

Siegfried nodded. "One way or another it will end tonight."

After the two of them ran through the empty halls of the palace they came upon the throne room doors. Link drew his sword and walked up to the large doors. Without hesitation he bashed the doors open and rolled inside. But behind the doors was something he did want, and something he didn't want right now.

The thing he didn't want was Nightmare sitting on his throne, the eye of Soul Edge glowing with sensation of new souls.

But the thing he did want was also something he thought could've waited for one more day.

Lying on the floor, with the dead body of Doctor Heth-dun beside her, was Midna.

Who had gone into labor!

"Oh, shit," he whispered.

XxXxX

**Long, Long, Long, whew.**

**Took me about two months, but I got it.**

**P.S. I'm getting tired of asking so I won't ask you again. Would you be so kind as to review my story? If you would, thank you.**


	6. Knights and Nightmares

**All right, here it is, the battle against Nightmare. No more waiting. HERE IT IS!**

_**Chapter VI**_

_**Knights And Nightmares.**_

XxXxX

Link could not believe what was happening. His wife going into labor he could understand. But did it have to be now? Midna could've taken the monstrosity in front of them out in one blast if she wanted to. But now all she could do now was gasp and writhe in pain as their baby struggled to come out.

"This can't be happening!" he whispered in pure fear.

"Oh, but it is," Nightmare said smugly. "Your ancestor owes me immensely for stopping me from completing myself while Siegfried was my host, but since he isn't here, I suppose I can take my revenge by taking your child to be the next host for the greatest Sword on earth."

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Link yelled in reply, only just able to stop himself from running up and attacking Nightmare.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Nightmare smiled from behind his helmet. He stood slowly, drinking in the scent the air held before a bloody battle.

"Remember," Siegfried said, "That eye is its most vulnerable point." As if on cue, the eye of Soul Edge lit up with a dark, eerie blue light. Siegfried's hand slowly reached up and grasped the hilt of his sword. Soul Calibur was freed from its holding spot and pointed at Nightmare's chest.

"Then I suppose we'd better stab that bastard's eye," Link muttered in anger before running straight at Soul Edge. Nightmare half-heartedly swung his sword at the lean figure of the Twilight King. The swing missed of course, but for Link to dodge the ridiculously huge sword, he had to jump back, which defeated the purpose of his attack.

Siegfried approached Link. "I think it would be better if we attack him together," he said seriously. Link nodded. He and Siegfried slowly walked to different sides of Nightmare, Link to his right and Siegfried to his left.

Nightmare sighed. "When will people like you wannabe 'heroes' learn I'm invincible?" he said to no one in particular.

"When will you learn that no one is invincible?" Link said before he and Siegfried charged at the same time. Nightmare spun his sword 360 degrees. Link jumped over the attack whereas Siegfried was not as agile, and was forced to jump back.

When Link landed, he swept his right foot underneath Nightmare, hoping to trip him. His hopes were dashed, however, when Nightmare's metallic boot halted Link's own. The soft leather boot offered no protection, and Link grunted in pain.

'_Maybe that wasn't such a good idea,_' he thought when he brought his aching shin back to stand. Nightmare swung out with his right arm, catching Link by surprise and he was thrown back against the wall. Link shuddered as Doctor Heth-dun's dead body was thrown atop him.

Nightmare's and Siegfried's swords clashed together, forming a deadly X between them.

"You know," Nightmare grunted, the power of the Spirit Sword's presence weakening him somewhat, "Had you listened to me and killed that French bastard when you had the chance, this wouldn't be happening."

Siegfried nodded with difficulty. He too, was having trouble with his opponent's weapon's evil nearby. "But at what cost?" he asked, "My sanity? My mother's soul? The world of Light's destruction?"

"Well," Nightmare smiled and half laughed, "To each his own!" Midna cried out in pain and Link hurriedly reached into his pouch. "Looks like someone's almost ready to pop." He laughed whole-heartedly this time. "You can try and try to overcome me, Siegfried, but you know better then anyone, you can never run from your past. As long as you exist, I will always be lurking somewhere in the shadows of your heart."

"Then I suppose someone had better turn on the light," Link said as he fired an arrow from the bow he always kept in his magic pouch. The arrow flew straight and true, and landed exactly where he wanted it to land.

Right into the eye of Soul Edge.

Although only Soul Calibur could utterly destroy Soul Edge, Nightmare cried out in pain as he, technically, was the sword.

Siegfried took his chance and pushed. Nightmare lost his balance and backed up, stumbling. "NOW!" Siegfried yelled. He and Link rushed in and attacked like two madmen, swinging their swords at every possible weakness in Nightmare's defense. Fortunately for them not all their attacks were deflected and chunks of Nightmare's armor fell off.

Eventually, though, their luck ran out.

Nightmare roared and spread his arms wide, fists clenched and Soul Edge point up. A tall ring of fire erupted from him and, just like what happened to Delitch, Siegfried and Link were blasted back in flame. Siegfried's armor protected him from most of Nightmare's evil, but Link wasn't wearing his golden armor and his King's tunic was ablaze before he was even launched into the air.

When he got up Siegfried looked over to Link, who was wisely rolling on the ground to put out the flames.

'_We need something to distract him, like Link did before,_' he thought desperately.

"Now will you learn?" Nightmare mocked, slowly making his way to the two heroes. "I cannot be beaten!"

Link looked up at Nightmare from where he lay on the ground in anger. The only time he had wanted to kill someone more was when he thought Ganondorf had killed Midna, which was when he unleashed his inner strength. But that was also when he held the Master Sword, and he didn't have that now.

Nightmare stood over Link now, looking down at the young king. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen," he chuckled. He raised his sword, and lunged it down at Link's head.

"GET AWAY FROM MY KING!" a voice yelled from the painting of Midna's late parents.

Shildow, who had only just arrived, leaped from where he was perched and tackled him as he blasted Nightmare with his shadow sphere. Nightmare, not expecting any form of attack, was thrown far back from the force of Shildow's attack.

Shildow stood tall, towering over the fallen Nightmare. He turned around and walked over to Link.

"Took you long enough," he said to his friend.

"I got here half an hour before he did," Shildow said. "It takes a long time to empty an entire palace through small passageways, you know. Even harder when you have to put a Queen into a state of suspended animation."

Link took Shildow's outstretched hand, hoisted himself up and stood next to his friend, whose height gave him at least five inches over Link.

"What the hell is this?" Nightmare yelled as he stood too, new anger coursing through his body. "Didn't you learn from your first defeat?"

"Nope," Link replied with a smirk.

Nightmare roared again, his eyes burning with hatred.

"Wait for it," Shildow whispered to Link.

Link was about to ask what they were supposed to wait for as a spear came from nowhere and pierced Nightmare in the neck.

Siegfried looked up. There, standing in the passageway, was Princess Hilde of Wolfkrone.

"Yes," he whispered to no one in particular. Though he didn't know it himself, Nightmare was right; he cared deeply for the redheaded fairy princess.

"I thought her arm was twisted," Link said, looking at Shildow.

"It was," he acknowledged. "But it was nothing my magic couldn't heal."

Link smirked. "Remind me again why I haven't put you in the doctors' division?" he asked.

"Because I'm too busy pulling your butt out of the fire every other day," he said with a smirk of his own. His eyes, however, never left Nightmare.

Nightmare collected himself for a second before laughing, the spear still in his neck. "It doesn't mater!" he roared, "It doesn't matter how many are against me! I will feast on all of your souls!"

Siegfried ran up to stand next to Link, and got into his battle position, clutching Soul Calibur in both hands to the left in a sidesaddle-like stance with his legs ready to spring at any moment.

Princess Hilde moved to stand beside Siegfried. She was holding a short sword much like the one she had used before in her right hand. Her left held nothing at the time but seemed to be twitching at something in the belt she wore.

Link and Shildow did the same and got into their battle positions, Link holding his sword somewhat behind him, ready to swing it any direction at any given time. Shildow prepared two shadow spheres in his hands and took a stance of spread out arms and legs.

"Shall we?" Link asked.

Link looked around the room with his eyes and engaged his other senses as well. Although he had lived here for near a year now, it never hurt to take in your environment one more time. Some small detail, previously unnoticed, may prove important in battle.

'_Besides, it might just be my last chance to get a good look at this place,_' he thought to himself.

Nightmare grabbed the spear from his neck and pulled. It came out with a sickening sound of ripping flesh. Where the spear once protruded, a large hole appeared in Nightmare's ash-black flesh!

'_Link, don't,_' Midna thought sadly as another large surge of pain shot through her and she looked at her husband with tear filled eyes. Unfortunately the process of suspended animation took time to take affect, and until it did the pain would be doubled. It was almost too much for her.

Now normally, Midna would have been scolding herself for being so soft, but right now her emotions were all over the place and no one would have been able to fight what was going through the Twilight Queen.

Nightmare was the first to move, and when he did, it almost too fast for the four of them to move out of the way. Siegfried was forced to roll forward and to the left slightly since Hilde was to his left and she had rolled to the left. For Link and Shildow, the sudden evasive maneuver wasn't a problem, for they had trained together for many months in preparation. Shildow bent backwards so Link could flip over his chest as Nightmare charged right past them. Soul Edge barely missed them.

Nightmare turned and swung his sword around. Hilde ducked and lunged at him with her sword, but it was too short and missed him when he simply took a step back.

Then it was Nightmare's turn. He lunged with Soul Edge and almost obtained her soul right then.

Had it not been for Siegfried's tackle, Princess Hilde would have been killed. He and Princess Hilde fell to the floor, Siegfried on top but still grasping his sword tightly.

Link and Shildow moved in next. Shildow sent bolts of shadow at Nightmare, which simply bounced off. Link, however, decided it was time someone should simply attack full force. Using the ancient moves taught to him by the Hero's Shade, he slammed the butt of his sword against Nightmare's sword, causing the monster to stumble back a pace or two. Link then leaped over him and, while doing a front flip with his sword straight out in front of him, sliced the back of his helmet.

When he landed Link wasted no time. He spun around on the spot and attacked the section of armor he had hit before on their last encounter. The spot became bigger and bigger as Link unleashed slash after slash to Nightmare's back.

Nightmare spun around in attack, but Link had been prepared and had rolled around to Nightmare's back again. When he was there he leaped up and spun himself around in mid air. Nightmare was thrown forward and landed on his face with a crash of metal on marble.

Siegfried and Shildow came up to stand beside Link, their weapons of choice at the ready as Nightmare stood up. He turned around to face them. Where his horn used to be was an empty stump. The horn was stuck in the floor where he had fallen.

"You know," Link said, unable to resist. "I think he looks better that way."

Midna couldn't help herself and laughed at his words, which brought everyone's attention back to her: Link with fear and concern, Siegfried and Shildow with confusion, Princess Hilde with amusement.

Nightmare, angered, attacked with a horizontal swing of Soul Edge, catching them off guard. Shildow tackled Link out of the way, and Siegfried was left to guard against the deadly swing. With a light grip on his sword and a flick of the wrist, Siegfried deflected Soul Edge and sent Nightmare back a step. Soul Edge went out of balance and was now over his head.

Siegfried swung his own sword and chipped off some of Nightmare's chest plate. Not stopping there, he swung Soul Calibur again and again. Five swings of Soul Calibur were complete before Nightmare could react.

Link charged again at Nightmare's back as he took a swing at Siegfried, once more hitting the same spot. Nightmare's attack on Siegfried wouldn't have hit him anyway, but now his attack barely struck air. Nightmare turned on Link in an attempt to attack him. Siegfried however, had different plans. While Nightmare struck out at Link, Siegfried lunged forward with his sword at the spot Link had been attacking.

And the back of Nightmare's armor was gone.

Nightmare's ash-like flesh was revealed and he stumbled forward, again missing his target by an undignified amount, although Link still needed to jump to avoid losing his legs to the giant sword.

As Nightmare stumbled and Link landed carefully, he brought his sword down as fast and as hard as his arms would allow, striking Nightmare in the middle of the head. With his back exposed and most of his strength gone, the three warriors and two princesses could breathe more easily.

Unfortunately, they would have to hold their breaths a little while longer.

Nightmare stood slowly. At the time they thought he was weakening, but had they looked more closely they would have noticed the eye of Soul Edge glowing with an eerie blue light.

Hilde was the first to notice it, and ran forward to attack his exposed back. Nightmare simply spun around again to catch her jaw in a left cross with his metal glove. She was sent flying across the room and landed on her side right next to Midna's throne.

"HILDE!" Siegfried yelled with wide eyes, his right arm stretched out in some hope of stopping her pain. Nightmare then delivered a powerful uppercut with his claw to Siegfried's chest. The crystal armor cracked from the force of the blow and Siegfried was sent sprawling over Nightmare's head.

"Siegfried!" Link yelled before unleashing repeated powerful spinning attacks on Nightmare. At this point he truly didn't care where Nightmare was struck. Though his attacks were indeed slowing the rapid growth of his enemy's power, Link was getting very dizzy by the time he was done with his tenth spin.

"You know," Nightmare said, grabbing the blade of Link's sword with his claw. "You and your dress-wearing kind are truly getting on my nerves."

"It's a tunic!" Link responded automatically. Midna had asked why he wore a 'dress' over and over again when they were trying to save Hyrule. At those times he simply replied with 'It is a tunic, Midna!' and moved on. Until she asked again, that is.

Nightmare didn't care what it was called, nor was he even listening. He pulled as hard as he could and yanked the sword from Link's grasp, sending it spinning behind him. Next, he lifted Link up by the neck and swung Soul Edge in an arc towards Link's head.

Retrieving the sword lying by the unconscious Hilde, Shildow threw it and pierced Nightmare's back, puncturing a nerve point and causing his claw to release Link just in the nick of time.

Soul Edge sank deeply into the marble floor of the Twilight Palace, sending sparks flying several feet in all directions. Link shook his head to clear it then rushed to where his sword lay on the ground. Rolling on the spot he grabbed the sword and rolled back to his feet, the point of his sword straight at Nightmare.

Siegfried looked around the room. There wasn't much they could do to increase their chances of defeating Nightmare, and there was no more strong souls intertwined with the light to help them fight off the darkness.

"Give up," Nightmare roared, pulling out the short sword from his back and shattering it with his claw. "You cannot win. You will all be my sacrifice!"

Siegfried, Link, and Shildow now stood like the points of a perfect triangle with Nightmare at the center. Shildow had his back to the throne, whereas Link and Siegfried were on the side of the large double doors. If this were a normal villain, this would have been the best tactic. But this was Nightmare, an entity of great, powerful darkness. And not much was known about how to stop him.

Midna cried out in pain again and Link had had enough.

With all of his remaining courage and power, he charged Nightmare. The Triforce of courage on his left hand glowed brightly with a golden light as he clutched his sword tightly in both hands next to the left side of his face. Shildow and Siegfried followed his lead and charged as well.

Nightmare stood tall once more, sensing the end of the fight was near at hand. '_This battle shall be my resurrection!_' he thought with absolute confidence. After all, the warriors all around him had very, very strong souls.

He leaped after Shildow first, his power granting him speed much faster then the Twili could imitate. He grabbed Shildow's head with his claw, raised the handle of Soul Edge, and pounded Shildow's jaw with it. The strength behind it alone was enough to fracture his jaw. Before Link or Siegfried could get to them, he bashed the Twili's jaw one more time with Soul Edge's handle, braking his jaw entirely, before turning in an arc and throwing Shildow at Siegfried.

Siegfried tried to duck, but the body was flying too fast to dodge, Shildow collided with Siegfried and both fell to the floor painfully.

With a powerful thrust, Link stabbed his sword at the eye of the evil blade, but missed. Nightmare knocked the sword from Link's grasp with his left hand, sending it spinning away. He stabbed Soul Edge towards Link. Link sidestepped and tried to run to his blade, the Triforce still glowing on his hand.

Nightmare, however, grabbed Link by the back of the head with his claw, and kicked downward against Link's right leg, breaking it in a loud, sickening crack.

Link let out a loud cry of pain as he felt his bones break. He crumpled to the ground, unable to withstand the sudden pain.

"I want you to witness this," Nightmare said slowly to Link, his grip on Soul Edge lessening. His grip on Link's head also went limp. "I want you to witness you child's birth, and know that it will eventually take its rightful place as my host."

Link felt the rage boil over inside him. No matter if he lived or died in doing so, he was _not_ letting this... this… _thing_ use his child for killing thousands of innocents to satisfy its own needs. He turned around on the floor, thinking he'd try and choke him.

Then he saw Siegfried.

Siegfried was silently and slowly moving towards Nightmare from behind. Soul Calibur was behind his back to reduce the light and keep him unnoticed by Nightmare.

"Before you make the biggest mistake of your life," Link began, almost unable to keep himself from smirking. "Why do you want my child for your new 'host'?"

Nightmare raised an unseen eyebrow at Link's words, dumbfounded. "Why would you ask a question you know the answer to?" he asked in reply.

"Oh, I don't know," he said, this time with an evil smile as he looked at the ground. "It might be due to the fact that I have forgotten, but I don't think that would be it."

Nightmare narrowed his eyes as they took on an evil red glow. He looked over to his left as he heard Princess Hilde awaken.

"Or, it could be because Siegfried needed some time before he could kill you from behind." He looked up and gave him his usual crooked smile. "I told you, you would make the biggest mistake of your life, and that would be listening to me talk."

Nightmare's eyes went wide. "GET READY!" Siegfried yelled. Nightmare turned just in time to catch a glimpse of Siegfried running at top speed, Soul Calibur glowing intensely. Before he could react, it was too late. Siegfried brought his sword up from where it hung at his side and brought it up between Nightmare's legs, sending him skyrocketing upwards. As Nightmare spun up, Siegfried changed his posture so he was facing the other direction, and when he came down Siegfried brought his own sword down, catching Nightmare by the neck and helping him crash into the floor, leaving large cracks in the marble. Nightmare rolled once before Siegfried pointed Soul Calibur straight up in the air. "PREPARE TO DIE!" he yelled. Link, Hilde, Midna, and Shildow watched in awe as Soul Calibur became like a beacon of light, increasing in size and length.

Nightmare rose from the ground, and indeed, stood his last.

Siegfried pointed the sword slightly at Nightmare then rotated it to the left in a counterclockwise fashion before it reached behind his head and stopped. "BE GONE!" Siegfried yelled this one last thing before bringing the blade straight down from where it was behind his head.

Soul Calibur, the blade of balance and order, was brought down onto Nightmare's head and went straight down to lay flat on the ground. When it collided with Nightmare, a light layer of crystals enveloped him. When it came in contact with the ground the crystals spread out from left to right in a straight line.

Nightmare stood there a moment.

Then dropped Soul Edge.

Nightmare slowly fell to his right knee as Soul Edge hit the ground, then fell completely to lie on the marble floor on his back, lifeless.

Siegrfied was on one knee now, panting. The power of his attack had drained him of his strength.

He gathered his breath. "Nightmare," he said slowly, "I have put my past behind me! I have put you behind me."

"I truly don't think that could have been better said, Sieg," Link said as he tried to stand but utterly failed. He let out a small grunt of pain as his leg gave way and he was forced to kneel on his good leg.

Siegfried stood and walked over to him, grabbing his arm and helping him stand.

"I believe your debt to me has been paid," Link said.

"How?" Siegfried asked.

"You saved not only myself, but my wife, my child, and this whole realm. And in my book, that is more then enough to repay the debt you said to have owed me."

Siegfried nodded, knowing he was now free to finish what he had started.

Neither of the men noticed Hilde walking up to them holding a small sword she had picked up randomly. She had heard and understood what Siegfried had said. She stopped in front of the two men, a serious look in her eyes.

"So," she said to Siegfried, "It was you who brought this calamity down upon us!"

Siegfried stood to his fullest height. Link limped away to his wife, who for some reason or other had stopped crying in pain, not that he was going to complain.

"Yes!" he said without fear. "I was the one called the Azure Knight!" He knew what she was going to do, and he didn't care, really. True, he would be giving up everything happy in both worlds, but in his mind he didn't deserve that.

"I see," she continued. The Princess raised the sword and pointed it at Siegfried. "You certainly acknowledge your guilt without hesitation."

Siegfried planted Soul Calibur into the ground and kneeled, looking down at the cracked marble floor. "Nightmare is gone. You and the others have helped destroy the evil that was born from me. And for that I thank you all. I have nothing more to regret!" He looked up at her. "Now, kill me, and bring an end to it all!"

Hilde tightened her grip on the handle of the sword then walked to stand in front of the kneeling man. Siegfried's head was bowed low. She placed the sword at his throat for a moment.

Before removing it from his neck.

"True warriors," she said, "think not of themselves, but of others." He looked up at her. "You have sacrificed everything to atone for your sins... and demonstrated true valor. Now that everything has come to an end," she pointed the sword back at his throat, "I, Hildeguard Von Krone, declare, that you, Siegfried Schtauffen, are forgiven for your sins." With that, she let a small smile cross her face and lowered the sword.

Siegfried looked up in shock. He truly did not expect any forgiveness after what he had done. He was the one who killed thousands of people; he was the one who had betrayed the ones he loved; he was the one who many called Nightmare.

"But…" he began to protest. The princess standing in front of him put a finger to his lips. She helped him stand and smiled more deeply. Had he looked more closely he may have seen the unspoken feelings in her eyes, but he had turned away to retrieve Soul Calibur.

Link noticed, however, when he looked in their direction. He smirked and limped over behind Siegfried.

"You are not to be blamed for that monster's crimes," Hilde said softly. "You are no longer the Nightmare you claim to have been."

Link came up behind Siegfried without either of the two noticing. Giving a mischievous grin to no one in particular, he pushed Siegfried forward, forcing his lips onto the Princess's, and kept his hand on his back.

'_If she doesn't wish it, she will tell him so,_' though he was confident that she would, indeed, wish to be kissed by Siegfried.

When she dropped her sword and wrapped her arms around Siegfried's neck, Link knew he had succeeded in repaying Siegfried for saving his family.

'_Even if _he_ doesn't value his own life, that does not mean someone else isn't willing to make it all worth while,_' he thought happily.

Siegfried simply could not think of what to do! He had spent so much time hunting Soul Edge and Nightmare and planning how to defeat him. He had never really thought about what it might be like to finally feel love. For Link to do this for him... he didn't know if he should be angry, or grateful.

Soul Calibur still in his left hand, Siegfried wrapped his right around her waist. Closing his eyes he pulled her closer to him, letting his instincts take control.

Though no one saw it, everyone would know who had done it. Soul Edge, which had been lying beside the corpse of Nightmare, disappeared through the floor into a portal of darkness.

As Link took his hand off of Siegfried's back and smiled at the two newfound lovers embrace, Ganondorf had achieved what he had desired.

The Sword of Damnation was his now!

XxXxX

**Well, That's it! :)**

**This chapter was dedicated to Rocketfist.**

**Who here actually saw that coming? Truly?**

**I was going to make this chapter a bit longer, telling the parts like the birth of Link's kid, and ending it with Link and Siegfried going through the Mirror of Twilight into the Realm of Light to fight Ganondorf, but I decided it would make too long a chapter if I put all the details in, so I ended it like this.**

**YES! That was Siegfried's critical finish from SCIV!**

**Chapter VII: Choice: will be uploaded as soon as I can get it done.**

**Live long and prosper.**


	7. Choice

**Hello, people who actually read this story, it is I, the Soul of Heroes. No, this is not the chapter where Link and Siegfried fight Ganondorf. It's more a chapter of choices, pain, and anger; one in which even though one can be a hero, that doesn't mean you can't lose yourself to revenge. Also, you might hate me for what I'm going to do, just don't tell me about it, cause I had to do it. It starts about half an hour after the fight, Midna has been freed from the suspended animation, and it opens up like this...**

_**Chapter VII**_

_**Choice!**_

**XxXxX**

Ganondorf stood in Hyrule field, Soul Edge firmly in his hand. The sword was quite happy with Ganondorf's power but for some reason, could not take him over. Ganondorf had already made himself known to the Princess Zelda and was expecting the army anytime now.

'_**Such a shame,**_' he thought smugly. '_**She would have made an excellent queen by my side.**_' He had known she had yet to chose a suitor to be king. She had originally chosen Link for that position of honor, but he had chosen the Twilight Princess before she had even sprung the idea on him.

Zelda had spent the next week brooding in private over losing the bravest man in the land to Midna. But she lived up to the best in herself and gave Link and Midna a summer palace in a far plane of the light world. The palace was big enough for the two of them and any children they would make along the way, and if they should wish to have them, servants.

That was where they spent their honeymoon.

'_**Finally,**_' he thought with a smile as the first row of a thousand-man army came into view. '_**Revenge is sweet! Thank you, Siegfried, Link. Now all shall either succumb to my will, or die!**_'

His eyes then took on a lifeless, black color; his power suddenly grew to such a level even he didn't know what had happened.

But he did know how to use it.

He raised his right fist, as Soul Edge was in his left, and shadow beings climbed out of puddles of darkness in the earth. He didn't know what these creatures were, but they bowed to his power.

"**Leave none alive!**" he said calmly, even his voice had gone deeper, and it wasn't only because of Soul Edge.

He laughed as the shadows began to move forward and the princess's army started to shake.

XxXxX

"LET ME BE WITH HER!"

"Your leg needs to be tended to!"

"I AM THE KING AND I WILL BE THERE WHEN MY WIFE DELIVERS!" Link yelled at the top of his lungs in anger as three Twili restrained him in the bed he was resting in.

Or... supposed to be resting in.

"As doctor, I am ordering you to rest," Motus said calmly, "If you wish to stop the Soul Edge, you need all the rest you can get and the longer that leg stays in one place the more effective the potion will work." Motus was standing at the end of the bed with his arms crossed. The death of his mentor and father figure was a hard blow to the young man, but he was doing his best in his new station in life.

"LET ME GO! Eeeerrrrrgggg!" Link struggled to free himself, but he was outnumbered and his leg was giving him trouble with most of the bone inside it gone. "Just do to me what you did to Shildow and let. me. go!"

Motus shoved another dose of the potion down Link's throat. "Shildow is a Twili, you are not. He can withstand the healing shadows. We don't know what will happen to you. Just relax. When you are fully healed, that is when I will let you move from where you should be at this moment, your majesty." Motus turned to leave, but when Link called out, he stopped.

"YOU'D _DAMN_ SURE WANT TO BE THERE IF IT WAS YOUR family!"

That made the new head doctor think. What would he want if it were his family? Now that he had time to think of something _other_ than the survival of patients from Nightmare's first and second attacks, he could understand Link's need, and this...

Link stopped struggling and let himself be laid down on the bed by the doctors, still looking at Motus's back. "Please, Motus. I made her a promise to always be there for her when we married. I made a vow and I'm going to keep it. As your King, I command you to let me be with her, and as her husband I will push myself to my own limits to do just that."

Motus turned, a smile on his face, something no one had had on theirs since Nightmare's massacre.

"You have three minutes to hold him or her," he said. He nodded to the three Twili and they released him. Link slowly got up from the bed, then he ran as fast as his one good leg would allow to the R.D.R. or Royal Delivery Room.

He stumbled after ten steps, though, and faltered, landing flat on the ground. Link tried to stand, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Her majesty wishes your presence in the R.D.R." Shildow said with a smile. "Sir Siegfried and Princess Hilde are waiting for you as well." He held out his hand and Link took it with great eagerness.

"Thank you," he said, smiling widely.

He smiled. "No problem." With that, Shildow walked next to Link as he helped him limp to the R.D.R.

XxXxX

"He'll be here!"

"But his leg is shattered!"

"He will be here!"

"What if he can't get here?"

"Hilde!" Siegfried said firmly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me. He. Will. Be. Here. I know this man, and he has so much honor in his heart, he would stand next to her majesty even if he couldn't move!"

They stood inside the R.D.R. Midna was lying on a bed with a doctor standing beside her. Needless to say he was none too pleased having so many light dwellers in the Palace, but he was one who respected the young queen's decisions and this one to have more Light Dwellers here was no exception. However, that didn't stop him from shifting his weight every once in a while in discomfort.

The R.D.R. was neatly decorated. Black silk curtains hung across the windows, and black flowers sat along a side table next to a soft mattress. Tinted black-blue silk sheets hung over the mattress on which lay the queen. It was this fancy mainly because no one ever used it, so was never dirtied up.

Hilde raised her eyebrow and Siegfried cleared his throat. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best way for me to put it?"

"I think you could have put that somewhat better too," Link jibed. He and Shildow entered the room, Link limping as best he could, large smiles on their faces.

"Link," Midna said, reaching out her hand to him. Link stepped away from Shildow's hold and embraced his wife, holding her hand in his own. Standing on his one good leg, he kissed her fiercely.

Siegfried's eyes went wide and he turned away. Hilde noticed this and giggled silently towards her new boyfriend. The doctor had seen many things. The King kissing his wife was one of them, but never had he seen a kiss this fierce. He averted his eyes from the passionate display.

Shildow, however, cleared his throat rather loudly. When Link stopped and glared at his friend, Shildow stuttered. "Um," he said.

"If you have nothing of importance to say, let me kiss the wife I nearly lost today." This was not one of his 'choice' orders. This was a solid one; Shildow could plainly see that from the fire in Link's eyes. He pressed on, though.

"I know you feel like you need to make up for the time you spent on this new 'mission' and the time you will be spending on it," he began. "But couldn't this wait until _after_ the birth?"

Link let out a small growl, much like he did when he was the Sacred Beast, but the man took note of the guard's words and ceased his kisses, for now. He took a small step back, still holding her hand, and still slightly territorial.

Shildow sighed, but smiled. "Doctor Noxed, I believe we are ready when you are!"

"Yes, Sir," Doctor Noxed said as he bowed. "But standard procedure says immediate family and the godparent only. I'm afraid the two of you will have to leave until the baby is out." He addressed Siegfried and Hilde at his last words.

"This man saved my life," Siegfried argued.

"And I am sure you are very thankful of that fact, but still, I will need the two of you to wait until this is over. She is going into labor now, and I will have Shildow here escort you out."

Neither man was about to back down. In Siegfried's eyes, he needed to keep Link and his child safe until Ganondorf and Soul Edge was defeated. Standing by Link's side at all time was the best way he could think of to protect him, and he didn't really care if anyone said he should leave.

In the Doctor's eyes, though, Siegfried posed a threat. A small one, but a threat nonetheless. He trusted him. After all, he saved the King's life a few short minutes ago, but the armor he was wearing could pose a threat to a newborn Twili, and this baby was also half Hylain. Who knows what could happen if exposed to something one Tribe was vulnerable to and the other useful with?

"Um, Siegfried, maybe we should leave them be," Hilde said softly. She grabbed his right arm and pulled him out the door.

Siegfried walked out the door without much argument, but didn't like having to wait outside. It wasn't that he needed to stand guard whilst his wife gave birth, it was more of that even though Link said his debt was repaid, Soul Edge still existed, and that was bad enough. To make it worse, the man who held part of the strength of the god of power, Ganondorf, held it. In the knight's eyes, he was responsible for letting the sword go without even trying to destroy it. Ganondorf had never shown his face once since he stepped foot in the Realm of Twilight. He should've seen through his plan.

"I should have known!" he muttered in anger.

"Known what?" Hilde asked, still leading him away from the R.D.R.

"Ganndorf now has Soul Edge and it's all my fault!" Siegfried stopped walking. With his strength and size Hilde didn't have a prayer of moving him.

Hilde tried to move him farther away from the R.D.R. one last time, failed, and sighed. "You cannot blame yourself for knowing naught of our enemy's plan. From what you and his Majesty have said about him, he had at least three years to plan and re-plan this so we could not have seen its true intent." She stood in front of the knight, looking him straight in the face, her hazel eyes gazing into his green ones.

"And another thing," she continued, "What makes you think it was your fault?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I could have destroyed it after Nightmare's power to live left its body," he replied. "I could have stopped its bloodstained trail right then and there. Not blind myself to needless desires."

"What? You mean you regret kissing me?"

Siegfried instantly wished he hadn't used those words. "No, no, I did. I very much liked being kissed by your majesty. I didn't mean to say those words. I, um, that is. I..."

Much to his surprise, however, she smiled and giggled. "Midna was right, it IS fun to mess with you hero types!"

Siegfried raised his own eyebrows. Just how fast could the female gender change in a few minutes?

XxXxX

Siegfried waiting on a couch with Princess Hilde sitting on his lap. Hilde's armor had been removed and was now lying on a table near the back wall.

Many minutes past, and no word had come to the two about the child.

"How long does it take to give birth to one child?" Siegfried asked, growing anxious. Hilde moved her head so it was resting in the arc of Siegfried's neck and closed her eyes.

"Well, there might be more than one baby," the princess replied.

"You mean, twins?"

"Yeah."

Siegfried sighed. "I still think we should find Soul Edge as soon as possible. The longer it stays out there the more souls it will feast on. It will surely give Ganondorf the power of a god by the end of the week!"

Hilde opened her eyes slowly. She twisted in her body so she was straddling Siegfried and locked eyes with the knight. "You know very well you won't be able to stop him with Link in his condition. Both you and his majesty will have to wait until you have not a single flaw in your bodies." She put her hands on either sides of his face. "You won't make much of a boyfriend if you're dead."

Siegfried was about to reply, but when Shildow emerged from the R.D.R. he lightly pushed Hilde off of him and stood to face the Twili.

"Well?" he asked.

"It's a boy," Shildow said with a smile, "And a girl. You are free to see them when you are ready."

Siegfried wasted no time in stepping past the new godfather and entered the R.D.R. Both Hilde and Shildow followed.

When they entered the R.D.R. they saw Link holding his son, in a rich black silk, and Midna holding their daughter in dark blue silk.

Link was sitting on the chair next to the bed Midna was laying in and was smiling down at his child. He and Midna were holding each other's hands. He looked up as he heard them enter.

"Siegfried," he said. Siegfried bowed, "Your Majesty." Hilde curtsied in respect. "We'd like to introduce to you the new heirs to the Throne of Twilight. Somber." He held up his son for Hilde to hold. She held him like he was the cure for her father's madness. "And Crystalline." Midna opened up the silk to reveal their daughter. Siegfried walked over but the doctor stood in his path, he quickly explained what Siegfried's armor was made of and why he should not move closer than necessary.

Somber had Link's skin color. Like most of the Twili he had symbols, but very few of them. Most were on his right arm. Crystalline didn't have any symbols on her body, but she did have her mother's skin color and even at this age she seemed to have her father's sandy blond hair.

"They truly are beautiful children, Your Majesties," Siegfried said, bowing his head slightly.

"Thank you," Link said as Hilde gave Somber back to him. He too held him like he was the way of destroying Ganondorf forever. "They are beautiful." He looked at Midna and smiled, "Much like their mother!"

Midna smiled and squeezed his hand.

Siegfried and Hilde smiled too. They looked at each other for a second before Doctor Mutos came in holding a box of the potion he had used before. The potions themselves were blue and in clear bottles about half the size of the bottles from Link's own village. There were eight in the box, and Link shuddered at the thought of drinking more of the vile stuff.

Mutos noticed the shudder and rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be such a crybaby," he said in annoyance. "It's not going to kill you!"

"No, but it tastes that way," Link shot back.

"Do you at least have the decency to do as you're told for one day?"

Link smiled. "Nope," he said with his usual crooked smile. Siegfried walked up to him and whispered something into his ear.

Link sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine," he said in defeat. "But as soon as I drink that stuff I am going to bed. I need my strength for what we must do!" He said the last few words mainly to Siegfried, who nodded.

"Wait just a second, buster!" Midna and Hilde spoke in unison. Both Link and Siegfried groaned.

Midna spoke to Link as Hilde spoke to Siegfried and both men cringed at the two women's words.

"We just had our children, Link!" Midna scolded.

"You and I have just started our relationship!" Hilde said with fire.

"And you plan on fighting a battle you very well might not come back from?"

"You actually intend on battling an enemy you might not be able to defeat?"

Shildow, Noxed, and Mutos looked at each other a moment, then slowly backed out of the R.D.R.

"Do you think they'll make it?" Mutos asked Shildow.

Shildow shrugged. "Honestly? I truly don't know."

XxXxX

Link lay in the bed with Midna, their babies lying between them. The beat down upon him and Siegfried earlier that day was enough to keep the young King awake with all the still-healing cuts and bruises, but it wasn't just that on his mind. Ganondorf was out there somewhere, and now he had Soul Edge. The only thing that could kill him was the Master Sword, and only thing that could destroy Soul Edge was Soul Calibur. They would have to kill Ganondorf _and_ destroy Soul Edge at the same time to kill them at all!

Hilde was sleeping in the Royal Guest-room while Siegfried opted to stand guard outside the door to Link and Midna's room with Shildow.

'_You will try to keep me here, won't you!_' Link thought as his left hand reached over the babies and roamed up and down her body. Her skin was as smooth as the silk covering the four royals, if not smoother.

Link pondered his options. On the one hand, he could stay for the potion to fully heal his wounds, but by then Ganondorf would have eaten enough souls to be strong enough to kill all the Twilight. On the other hand he could leave tonight with Siegfried and attack Ganondorf at his weakest state, but his leg would hurt throughout the battle they would have, causing him to lose much of his mobility. Either way he would most likely die in the attempt to stop him.

"I'm sorry, Midna," he whispered. He kissed her on the check and got out of bed. He then bent down and gave their babies each a kiss on their cheeks. His leg in a splint, he moved over to the closet and took out his coat, all of his weapons, and his tunic.

He limped back to the bed and wrote a quick note to her.

Then left the room with the note in his hand.

When he exited through the door he stood with Siegfried and Shildow for a moment.

"She won't forgive you for a very long time, you know that don't you?" Shildow said.

"She should understand my choice," he replied.

Link looked at Shildow firmly. "You will keep her from entering the realm of light, I trust?"

"I shall try my best," he said.

"Do whatever you need to do to keep her here for as long as possible. Motus will be able to back you up."

"I've only been here a few days," Siegfried said, "but from what I have gathered in that time she doesn't seem like the type of woman to be fooled or controlled for long."

"She isn't," Link confirmed with a smile. "I estimate you'll be able to keep her in the dark no more then an hour and a half from when she wakes up. Maybe two if you're lucky."

Siegfried nodded but he didn't like it. He had lived a lie for many years, keeping himself from people for not only their sake but for his own.

But, he had just met his first love, and he wouldn't be too happy if she went into battle without him knowing it, even if she is the Princess of Wolfkrone.

"When she finds out, please give her this!" Link handed Shildow the folded note.

Shildow looked at the note in his hand then at Link. "Good luck," he said. Link nodded and hugged his friend, who was still a little awkward with the embraces, but returned it nonetheless.

"Take care of yourself, buddy," Link whispered. "Oh," he pulled away to look him firmly in the eye, "And find a nice woman for yourself, and that, my friend, is an order from the King." They both smiled at this.

"I'll do my best!" he promised.

"Give her love, attention, and a family fit for a king. Be her king, for she shall be your queen." Shildow smiled broadly at that.

"Link," Siegfried said urgently.

"Right."

Link and Siegfried walked down the dark hall leaving Shildow standing at the door to the royal bedroom. He looked down at the note in his hand. Behind it was another one addressed to him. He opened the note and read its contents.

'_Shildow, my friend, you have been kind and helpful to me ever since I arrived here and became King. You never showed me any ill will, nor any resentment or anger. For that I am very grateful. You helped me through the shock of finding Midna to be pregnant, and I have never done anything to help you. So here are a list of available women I have spoken to in order to help you get a date. If you wish to find one on your own, go for it. And know I will always be in your debt for everything you have done for my wife and me. Take care of her and our children. Thank you._

_Your friend..._

_Link_

Under the letter was a small list of addresses and names Link had wrote down for him. On another part of the letter were the names of the women and their hobbies, their family, what their favorite foods were, and many other things to tell him what he needed to know about them. One name in particular caught his eyes though. It was the name of someone he had had a crush on ever since he was fifteen.

XxXxX

Link and Siegfried walked down the empty corridor and passed the room in which Hilde was sleeping. Siegfried stopped.

"What is it?" Link asked him. He stopped and turned to face Siegfried. He stood a few footsteps ahead of the knight. He looked and saw the door Siegfried was looking at. "Oh," He moved over and put a hand on his shoulder. "You two will see each other again, you'll see." He smiled at Siegfried and moved forward down the hall once more.

"I wish I could be so sure," Siegfried whispered before walking down the corridor behind Link.

XxXxX

"Before we continue, a warning," Link said over his shoulder to Siegfried. They were standing right outside the Mirror of Twilight. The presence of people wishing to enter the Realm of Light activated its portal. The activation of the depths of its power lit up the sky with a pale gold light. It would have brought alarm to the Twili people and brought Midna running to the Realm the two were about to enter had Link not placed the Mirror itself in another, more disserted part of the Twilight. So only if someone ran all the way past the Nulostion Kingdom, which was the farthest from the Twilight Palace, would anyone actually see the light. It had taken about two hours to reach this point, and their time was running thin.

"Ganondorf uses the power not only of darkness, but light as well. The golden power of the Triforce of Power gives him that right. And if he has killed her he should also have the Triforce of Wisdom too."

"And now he has Soul Edge," Siegfried finished. "We can take him together. We can't lose, Link. Not when we're fighting for something worth dying for!" He stepped foreword, looking deeply into the Mirror. "Where will this bring us to?" he asked.

"A desert once ruled by the Gerudo, a tribe of women. The exact location is at the top of a temple in the Mirror's chamber." Link stepped up to the Mirror and touched its smooth surface. "By the time we reach the castle," he said more to himself then to Siegfried, "he will have gained enough power to take on a god. I hope you're ready for this!"

"Tell that to Ganondorf," he replied.

Link smiled and half chuckled. "Alright then." He moved to stand directly in front of the Mirror and motioned for Siegfried to stand next to him. Siegfried stood beside the young King and waited. He felt his legs go limp and looked down. He would have screamed if he were someone else, because his body was dissolving in black square Twilight particles.

It started at his legs and went up to his head, all the while taking the parts of himself through the portal to the realm that he was born in.

XxXxX

When he opened his eyes, Siegfried had to shut them rather quickly to shield them from the sun's light. When his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, he looked over to Link, who was shielding his eyes and looking at the ground. Siegfried couldn't blame him really. After all, Link had been in a realm of shadows for nearly a year now, and the sudden exposure to the light would hurt anyone. In addition, they were in the desert, so the sun was much hotter and much brighter then it would be elsewhere.

'_But I'd be willing to bet a part of him wishes he could do this all the time, being home,_' he thought as he looked out to the horizon. The sun had recently come up and judging by its position it was around eight in the morning. Already the darkness seemed to be seeping away the world's beauty, caused by Soul Edge's taint.

"Nothing good can come out of that sword." Siegfried turned to face Link, who was blinking out the last bits of pain from the sun's rays and looking out over the desert. He almost seemed to know something was wrong with it.

"No," Siegfried looked back out to the darkened sky, even though it was early in the morning. "Nothing, only monsters and demons born for the sole purpose of eating up everything that is good and light in the world."

They stood in silence for a moment, before Link walked forward down the stone steps that led to the sea of sand.

They walked through the desert in silence, both too focused on the task at hand to speak.

When they reached the end of the plane both men gasped in horror.

Lake Hyla, or home of the Zoras, which had once shone brilliantly with the reflection of the sky, now seemed to burn with hundreds of dead bodies, each one spilling a horrifying amount of blood into its once clear waters. Seeing it, Link's eyes went wide and he seemed to be lost in his own mind.

"No!" he whispered. Link stepped forward in the sand and climbed down in rush, Siegfried hurried down after him. Link's nimble legs allowed him great ease in sliding and jumping down the slope, even with the splint. Siegfried, however, was not so graceful and ended up rolling down the hill.

When he finally stopped at the bottom of the hill and got up from the fall, he saw Link kneeling down on a ledge overlooking what looked like a dark red lake. Caused by blood, most likely.

"Rails," Link whispered.

"Who?" Siegfried asked gently.

"Prince Rails." Link was in despair. "Well, he's probably King Rails now, or was King. Midna and I saved him when I first became a 'hero'. He let me and Midna use his homeland for our first date." He pointed to a specific body floating in the water, what appeared to Siegfried as a fish-like humanoid. However, he knew it was the boy Link was talking about.

"I'm sorry," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I know what it's like to lose someone you care for."

"I can only imagine what else he's done to this place," Link continued.

"Don't try to," Siegfried said firmly, shaking Link's shoulder to snap him out of his trance. "The more time we spend here, the more he'll be able to do. Let's just get that sword you spoke of and stop him before he can do anything like this," he pointed out to the bloodstained lake, "ever again."

Link nodded slowly, understanding he could afford to linger at this moment. There would be time to grieve, but now was not that time.

"Now," Siegfried helped Link stand, "where _is_ this sword of yours?" he asked. Something seemed to strike Link, for his face had gone from one of sadness, to one of absolute fear.

"My home!" he shouted before running as fast as he could down the path that was to the right of where they stood.

"Link?" Siegfried called out, running to catch up. He didn't respond; Link simply kept running past all the dead Zoras and onto a busted up bridge that led to the cannon that stood on a wooden raft floating near the center of the lake of blood.

Link ran over to the right of the cannon and found the controls. "Good, they still work," he said to himself. He fiddled with the controls for a few seconds. In that time Siegfried finally caught up to him. Link moved into the cannon's door, signaling Siegfried to enter as well.

Siegfried entered as fast as he could and the door rolled shut behind him. It was pitch black inside. Nothing could be heard except for the music, growing seemingly louder, that had started playing. Siegfried was about to ask why they were inside this cannon when all went haywire. The canon shot up a few feet before making a sudden stop, and then it seemed to turn a few degrees before stopping again.

"Hold on," Link said.

"To what?" was all Siegfried could get out before the two of them were shot out of the cannon at top speed. Siegfried could not tell where they were going because he was spinning so fast. When they met ground, he landed flat on his back while Link landed nimbly on his feet.

'_I'm going to have to ask him how he does that,_' Siegfried thought before getting up, his body aching all over.

"We don't have any time to lose," Link said as he helped Siegfried stand. "The Master Sword is in Faron Woods, and it's a long way from here." Link and Siegfried ran out of the building and stepped out into the fields of the Lanayru province. Siegfried ran in the direction Link led him. Remaining as silent as possible, the only sound that could be heard was that of his boots padding on the dirt ground.

Out of breath from what felt like a hundred mile run, Siegfried stood next to Link at the path to what Link called 'Faron woods'.

"How much... farther will... we have to... go?" Siegfried gasped out.

"Not much farther," Link answered, "But if I know Ganondorf like I think do, he'll have monsters or minions guarding the sword, so be prepared to fight at any given time." Siegfried nodded, but put a hand on Link's shoulder.

"Could we at least have something to eat or drink before we get moving again?" he asked. Link looked at him, a little confused, but understood nonetheless.

"We only have five minutes before we start up again," he said before sitting down on the ground alongside Siegfried, passing him an apple and a small leather container of water from his pouch.

Siegfried groaned as he sat down. Never before had he seen someone push himself so hard. Even though Link was trying to save the people he loved, it was outstanding how he could push himself to his limits to do it. It was no wonder why he had the Triforce of Courage.

Five minutes later, they set off again into the forest that was Link's home, and he would think of it as nothing else.

As the came to the point where they could either walk to the small village of Ordon or go to the Sacred Grove, Link stopped.

"What is it?" Siegfried asked. Needless to say, Siegfried didn't know where they needed to go in order to retrieve this magic sword.

"I don't really know," Link answered slowly. "It could be nothing, but I feel as if I should see something along this path." He pointed upward along a neatly groomed trail. To the right of that was probably where they needed to go in order to get the Master Sword. "Something seems, I don't know the words... too right here? I mean, why would he attack the Zoras, but not the people from my village?"

"Maybe we should check it out?"

"No, no," Link interrupted before Siegfried could finish. "No, we need the Master Sword before we try anything we could regret. It's probably a trap anyway."

"Agreed."

Still having an uneasy feeling about all this, Link lead the way to the Sacred Grove, and the Blade of Evil's Bane.

Not fifteen minutes after Link and Siegfried were gone, a seven-foot tall man wielding a large sword with an eye on the flat of the blade entered the forest with an evil smile.

'_**Try all you want, **_**hero**_**,**_' he thought, '_**Because you will never be able to stop me now!**_'

With Soul Edge in his left hand, he raised his right and snapped his fingers. From puddles of darkness came the same creatures that seemed to be made of the shadows themselves and moved slowly to the peaceful, unsuspecting village of Ordon.

XxXxX

Twenty minutes had passed since Link had chosen to get the Master Sword first, and Link suddenly felt a great emptiness inside his heart. He stopped running and Siegfried ran past him.

Siegfried stopped his running and turned around to face his friend. "Something wrong?" he asked.

Link shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "It's as if all of a sudden something has been peeled from my soul."

Siegfried nodded slowly. "I don't know what exactly causes it," he began, "but there are some people in the west who believe that one can sense the distress of another close to him or her." These words seemed to ease Link's sudden urge to cry, for he smiled at them.

"Midna must be awake, then," he said. "We'd better hurry before she comes to find us." With the words even he wasn't so sure about believing, Link started running again in the direction of the ruins of the Temple of Time, the Sacred Grove, or the Master Sword's resting place.

XxXxX

"So that's it?" Siegfried asked. He pointed to the Master Sword, resting in its pedestal. The blade itself was fantastic. The handle was highly decorated but not just for being put up on a wall for show. All in all, it was a very impressive sword of light. He could only imagine what it could do to someone of darkness.

"That's it!" Link said, walking up to the sword as he spoke. "This is what it will take to bring him down." He grabbed the handle of his sword and pulled. The blade came out of the pedestal easily as if it was nothing but a hole in the earth.

"Now. We can stop him." Link held the Sword of Light high in the air with pride. The scabbard appeared in a flash of light on his back. With the other scabbard it formed an X on the young hero's back. Link sheathed the magic blade and turned to face Siegfried. "The power of light is on our side now." Link walked to stand beside him, Siegfried facing the pedestal and Link in the other direction. "It's time we ended this once and for all. There won't be more fighting after this. Ganondorf is the last man to wield Soul Edge."

Siegfried nodded and turned at the same time Link began walking out of the grove.

XxXxX

They half walked, half ran back to the main path, saving their strength for the battle at hand. They continued for roughly fifteen minutes, before they reached the point where they had the choice of moving into Hyrule field or taking a right to get to Link's village. When they arrived there, they noticed that the path was destroyed. Not literally of course, but the trees had lost much of their leaves, the birds had ceased their singing, and most important of all, the light didn't seem to touch the ground. Link and Siegfried walked up a few paces and stepped back quickly, as if the darkness had hurt them from the inside.

"What happened here?" Siegfried said out loud.

"I don't know," Link said, unsheathing his sword in one fluid movement. "But I'm going to find out." He waved his sword left to right against the path and the darkness slowly slipped away, seeming to flee the light from the blade.

Their progress was slow but sure. After a while they came to the Spring of Ordona. Link gasped at the sight. Where there was once fairies there was nothing, not even a light. The once clear waters were now black, like a mud black, only more dark. Darkness. They moved on from the sight and made it to the first house on the left of a small clearing. The house was Link's old house, but it seemed less cheerful than it used to be, much like Ordona's Spring. For a moment he thought it may have been because he had not lived there in some time, but he knew something was wrong the moment he didn't see any birds or wildlife of any kind near the small house.

No more darkness could be seen from this point on, a fact that surprised and worried both Link and Siegfried. They moved forward with caution. Siegfried's hand was on Soul Calibur and Link's on his two swords.

What they saw when they entered the village made Link drop to his knees in shock and pain. Not the kind that a simple potion could heal, but the kind of pain one had when losing someone from his family.

Where there was once green grass and full of life was now a field of blood. The villagers lay unmoving, dead on the ground. Siegfried stepped up to the nearest body and examined it. What he found was news he knew Link would not want to hear.

The body he had examined had only been dead a few short minutes.

Link stood and walked around the village slowly. He couldn't believe this was happening. He had known Ganondorf would attack his village, but it had never really struck him until now. He too, had checked a body. The woman was Uli, the wife of his father figure and mentor, Rusl, who lay beside her and he knew it was less then ten minutes ago when she died.

'_I could have saved them..._'

Those were the words that kept playing over and over again in his mind as he walked around the bloodied and destroyed village of Ordon.

Houses were nothing but splinters on the ground. A few planks even landed and floated in the blood red water. Scorch marks were easy to see on all of the houses.

Siegfried stood next to the body he had looked at. It was that of a woman about a year younger than Link. She looked as if she had been raped before she died too. It made Siegfried sick and sad for Link when he looked back to his young friend, knowing it was their fault for not checking on the village while they had the choice to do so.

Link stopped at the gate to the ranch where he used to work and help a kind man by the name of Fado. Now the man was dead too, and he could have saved him, the goats, all of the animals, his family. He could have saved them all, had he trusted himself.

He fell to his knees once more and began to cry. He didn't care about Ganondorf or Soul Edge right now. He had just lost his family, his friends, the people who believed in him since he was a boy growing up. They had given him strength, courage, wisdom.

Love.

They had taught him everything he knew. They taught him to be kind, they taught him how to defend the people that needed to be defended. Everything! Now they were gone, all gone, to be nothing but a sacrifice to the _damned Sword_!

He felt rage boil inside his heart. Why didn't he stay? Ganondorf couldn't kill something that isn't there. He could have evacuated the village and no one would have been hurt. But no, he had to retrieve the Master Sword first, and now everything he set out to protect was gone. It was almost too much for the young man.

"Ganondorf will pay for this!" he muttered through his anger. He stood and turned to walk to Rusl's house. When he came back out he held a shovel firmly in both hands. He walked past Siegfried and the now dead Ilia and all the way to the stone Rule and he used to practice next to. He started to dig.

'_They deserve to lie in peace,_' he thought as he dug deeper and deeper into the ground. He could tell Siegfried was walking towards him and he didn't care. His family was dead, his home had been destroyed. If he tried to stop him, he would fight to get this done.

Instead, Siegfried stepped beside him with his own shovel and began digging next to him.

It took a few hours to bury all the bodies and mark their graves. Neither of them cared, though, for the kind, loving people of Ordon deserved the 'Last rights of Hyrule'.

Rusl was laid to rest next to his wife and daughter Lily. Beth and her parents, Hanch and Sera, were to rest together as well. The same with Talo and Malo and their father. Jaggle and her mother Pergie. Mayor Bo with his daughter, Ilia. Fado was the only one without a family by blood and was buried with the garden - what was left of it. After all, he was the one who gave it the most work while Link was living here, and he thought it would be best if he were to sleep there.

The graves had been marked, and the bodies had been buried. Now all that was left was to kill the man who had done this.

Link knelt down next to his mentor's grave and prayed. He had never prayed before, but this was the man who was like a father to him, and he needed to say a few words.

Siegfried felt Link could use some privacy and walked to the entrance of the village. He climbed up the ladder that led to Link's old house and sat down at the top. What Link could be feeling right now was beyond Siegfried. Yes, he had killed his own father, but he had not known who he was, though that wasn't an excuse in his mind. They had had a choice in this one; they could have entered the village to evacuate it, but they didn't.

"I wonder how he's taking it," he thought out loud. As if on cue, Link came from the village looking fine. His body did, anyway. His eyes though... his eyes shined with new tears he tried to hide. Siegfried jumped down and walked over to him, but Link just put up a hand and looked angrily at the ground.

"Let's go!" he said. Siegfried only just caught his words when Link began running in the direction of Hyrule Field. Siegfried chased after him. They moved in such a hurry they didn't notice a small piece of wooden plank moving where one of the houses had fallen.

XxXxX

What they saw in Hyrule Field was not so much a shock as it would have been before. The Hylain army had been slaughtered and their dead bodies lied motionless on the blood stained grass.

"How powerful do you think he is now?" Siegfried asked, though he already knew the answer to his own question. The reason he asked it was to get Link's mind off of Ordon. But of course, it didn't work out so well.

"The people of my village had very strong souls," he said, a hint of pride in his voice. "They alone could give him much power, but an entire army? I'd say he's almost ready to destroy a god."

"Are we able to defeat a god?"

"No," Siegfried looked at Link, who continued to look towards the horizon, "But we can kill _him_!"

Link walked over the field of bodies towards where Siegfried could only guess was Hyrule Castle. While Link was enveloped in anger and didn't care where he stepped, Siegfried didn't feel right walking on dead people, and tried to step over them.

Link stopped over one particular body. It was the body of the King Boblus. They never went into first-name terms before he had left, but by the Hylain symbol on his armor, he could guess he had died fighting alongside the army. Yet another good soul: lost.

'_What is going on in that head of his?_' Siegfried thought as Link continued to walk, oblivious of everything except for Hyrule Castle.

XxXxX

Link and Siegfried stood outside the main entrance to Hyrule Castle. Castle Town was no different from that of Zora's Domain or that of Ordon or Hyrule field: covered in corpses and red from the blood of many lives. The castle was no different for that matter. Blood covered the walls, corpses of the innocent littered the ground, and most of the stone walls itself were ripped open by a giant sword: Soul Edge.

"Ganondorf," Link said to the unseen madman. "You will pay for what you have done."

What happened next, surprised them both.

"Seize them!" yelled a women's voice that Link knew well.

Link and Siegfried turned just in time to see Zelda shoot an arrow at them. The arrow missed Siegfried's armor by less than an inch. Siegfried, thinking she was the new servant of the evil blade, drew Soul Calibur, but Link stood in front of him.

"No," he said, "Zelda! What are you doing?" He took a step toward Zelda, only to be attacked by her sword. He jumped back and drew his two swords. When she came to attack him from above, he raised both swords to form an X above his head, catching her sword in the cross. "Stop it Zelda, don't you recognize me?"

Siegfried blocked attacks from what appeared to be mindless Hylain Solders as Link tried to get through to Zelda.

Zelda's cloths were different from when he had seen her before. The last time her had seen her she was wearing a pink and white dress. Now she was wearing a black one with red lining along the shoulders and the back and arms. She also wore a long black cape that reached the floor. Her hair had also turned black with red (most likely blood) streak stains, and her eyes were yellow.

"Yeah, I recognize you," she said, "I can see exactly what you are! A TRAITOR TO THE CROWN! DIE, BASTARD!" She tried to push him back, but he was much too strong for her, she gave a roar of frustration at his rock-like posture, unmoving. A tear fell down Link's cheek and he pushed her back. She stumbled and he pressed on, attacking with his two swords. Though he did not wish to kill her, he knew she would kill him without a second thought if he gave her that chance. He continued to push her back until she was forced onto a wall. With a flick of his left wrist she was disarmed and her sword went spinning away. The sword in his right hand's point was at her throat.

"Hey, Link!"

Link turned his head to see Siegfried fighting ten Hylain men. "I could use a hand over here."

Link then noticed something very interesting. All of the men had a black, red rimmed heart symbol on their chests with something like a red lightning bolt fashioned X through its center. He looked at Zelda and couldn't see such an emblem on her. Then he thought for a moment. He bashed her head in with the Master Sword. She crumpled to the ground, the back of her cape revealed. There, on the back of the cape was the same heart shape symbol he saw on the men's chests. The heart itself was black but the outline of it was red, and the same X out of a red lightning bolt was there just like the symbols on the other men's chests.

'_What is this?_' he thought. A knight came crashing down next to him, which of course snapped him out of it.

Link turned and ran to Siegfried's aid.

After the long fight with the seemingly endless amount of men, they ran up the castle at top speed, encountering more of the evil men, and fighting them off. Link killed all who got in his way while Siegfried simply knocked them out. What was wrong with Link? He had never shown any intent in killing anything before.

Each time Link killed a guard, they would disappear in a puff of darkness.

XxXxX

Ganondorf was sitting on his throne, Soul Edge rested over his lap; the two were, 'conversing', on whom they should kill first.

The mind that was truly Ganondorf, wanted to kill Link, but the part of his mind that now was Soul Edge wanted Siegfried to parish.

As they contemplated this, the large double doors burst open to reveal the two men in question. It was then Ganondorf decided he would kill them at the same time.

The first thing Link noticed was the same heart symbol where the hole in his chest once was.

The two men charged Ganondorf.

XxXxX

**I hate myself for doing this to Link, but I had to do something to get him angry and sad at the same time, and I couldn't think of anything else I could do. If you didn't like what I did to the people, sorry for that, I'll update the battle scene as soon as I can.**

**This is Soul of Heroes, saying farewell, until chapter VIII that is ;)**


	8. Memories, and A Struggle

**I understand if you hate me for what I did to Link, turning him into a man who doesn't care who he harms so long as he gets to Ganondorf, but if I hadn't, that would mean Ganondorf would have obtained Soul Edge for nothing but taking over Hyrule Castle, and that's not what Soul Edge or Ganondorf wants. Had I not done that I would be one of those writers where everything goes right throughout the story, and I refuse to be just that.**

**Anyway, here's the battle against Ganondorf and Soul Edge...And a surprise you never saw coming.**

**P.S. It's going to jump over time and space. Try to keep up.**

_**Chapter VIII**_

_**Memories, and a struggle.**_

XxXxX

"_Do not think this ends here, boy," Ganondorf chuckled as he jumped out of reach of the Master Sword. Blood oozed from many cuts he had sustained. "I shall return and the history of light and shadows shall be written in your blood, _Hero_!"_

_With a snap of his fingers, Ganondorf disappeared in a flash of darkness, leaving Link and Zelda alone on Hyrule field. Link dropped the Master Sword, for he felt the strength to hold it had vanished._

_Midna was gone as well; she had died trying to protect them. Link had lost more than a friend. He had lost a battle partner, his best friend, and the only one he could trust with his life._

_He knew it wasn't likely she could have survived, but if there was a one in a million chance, he'd take it. She was his best friend._

_Zelda put a hand on his shoulder, knowing his pain well enough to understand it._

"_She's gone, Zelda," he said, looking at the ground._

_As soon as he said these words, a bright light came from a nearby hill. Both Link and Zelda looked at it in wonder. From the light came the four Light Spirits, Ordona, Faron, Elden, and Laynaru. They looked down at a certain point and then as one looked at Link. They didn't say anything, but they didn't have to. Link had seen what they were looking at: a lone figure that looked to be a child. But he knew better._

_He began walking slowly. Then he started a slow run before running as fast as he could. He knew it was Midna. It had to be, it just had to._

_When he got there, though, it wasn't the imp who had helped him throughout their journey, but a kneeling woman of about his age. The woman slowly stood up. She was tall and had on a cloak with the symbols of the Twili. The hood was up and Link couldn't see her face. She turned around to face him slowly, her right shoulder to him, a look of drowsiness on her beautiful features. His expression must have been one of shock, for she smiled the way Midna used to and giggled lightly._

"_What. Say something..." she said, her smile turning into a smug grin. "Am I so beautiful you've no words left?"_

_All he could do was smile widely._

_Midna was alive._

XxXxX

Link and Siegfried attacked without thought of defeat or turning back. Link had given up his shield to wield both of his swords, one in each hand. Because the Master Sword was weightless, Link could hold and swing both blades without much difficulty, if any at all.

Link fought without any idea of mercy, the anger taking over most of his senses as flashes of his family's dead bodies came over him every time he closed his eyes. Link attacked fast and Siegfried attacked with more powerful strokes in order to disarm the madman.

XxXxX

"_Hey. Midna?" Link asked._

"_Yes?" She looked over to him, a wide smile on her face._

_The two lovers were lying in Midna's bed in the Twilight Palace. Link was holding her in his arms and both were naked underneath the silk sheets. They had just finished making love for the first time, and he needed to ask her a question. Even though he was scared of her response._

"_If someone were to find out about us," he began. He turned away, not wanting to see her face at this time. He need not worry though, because Midna was sure no one would find out until she told them. She was good at keeping a secret. If she were to describe what she was feeling right now, she would have said she was amused by Link's concern. "What would happen to this? What would become of you?"_

XxXxX

Midna woke from her slumber and the first thing she noticed was her husband's absence. She looked down at her babies, who had woken up and were playing with her hair. Why she hadn't felt this love before, she did not know. Seeing her children almost made her forget about Link.

Almost.

She picked up Somber and Crystalline and began to breastfeed them. She would see Link got a lecture _and_ a good verbal beat down after the two children had had their fill.

'_When you get home,_' she thought almost angrily, '_You are not going to get your ears scratched!_' She knew before she even went to sleep that he was going to fight Ganondorf, and that was why she loved him so. He didn't keep any negative thoughts in his head nor did he care what anyone thought of him.

And he'd do everything to keep their family safe.

XxXxX

Link and Ganondorf fought straight on for half an hour. Siegfried was on the ground clutching his side in pain. Neither one could land a hit on the evil man but they didn't show weakness, fear, pain, or any emotion Ganondorf would love to see. But Link's anger was beginning to show.

Ganondorf eventually kicked out and sent Link flying across the room. Because of Soul Edge's power it didn't take much effort to do so. He then turned in attack on Siegfried as he stood up.

XxXxX

_Midna giggled the way she always did. It was cute the way he was always so concerned about her. She decided it was time to play around with him._

_She ran her finger up Link's muscular, bare chest. The motion sent a shiver down Link's spine. "Well," she began. She had put on the innocent look and the scared little girl voice knowing the combination of the two would make Link be overly concerned for her. "I suppose, the rules say that a Princess can't be with someone she's not married to. They might exile me." The way Link reacted told her she had succeeded, because he had wrapped his arms around her tightly and was holding her close._

"_Even if they do, you can always come to me, Midna. I love you so much."_

XxXxX

Shildow knocked on her door. Even though he had stared Nightmare in the face and lived to tell the tale, his nerves were all over the Twilight. He heard footfalls on the other side and tensed. When she opened the door and looked up to him with a smile, he already knew:

Link had made his life all that much easer to live for.

XxXxX

Siegfried was on the ground again. Soul Calibur had been lost from his grip and now lay on the stone floor some meters away. Soul Edge was at his throat.

XxXxX

"_You've been practicing that line haven't you?" Midna giggled. She put her head on his chest and laughed. "I was just teasing you."_

_Link unconsciously looked over to his discarded tunic that lay on the edge of the bed. He had been debating over something since their two-year anniversary._

_Inside one of the pockets was a silver ring._

XxXxX

Link roared as he did when in wolf form and reached around Ganondorf's neck from behind. His swords had been knocked from his hands. Ganondorf gagged a little, but to get Link off he simply jumped onto his back. Link only just managed to swing himself out of the way, but he had to let go of Ganondorf in the process.

Link rolled on the ground, his fists at the ready and his teeth bared in pure hatred. Ganondorf flipped up without the use of any limbs and attacked full force, swinging Soul Edge in all directions at a speed so fast Link could just barely knock it away with his gauntlets. Siegfried rushed over and threw Link's second sword at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf dodged the sword and it landed near the throne. He then attacked Siegfried. Siegfried rolled under Soul Edge and grabbed Soul Calibur. While he was getting up he swung the sword out of instinct. Soul Calibur and Soul Edge made contact with great force and a large explosion wracked the throne room.

XxXxX

Midna didn't rush in putting on her clothes, seeing as Somber was, in a way, much like his father: stubborn, and kept asked for more love and attention from her. She didn't mind. In fact, it reminded her of Link in a way.

The other reason was a simple one. She knew he had ordered more than a few guards to keep her here until it was over. She also knew even she couldn't take on an entire royal guard.

She finally managed to put on her morning gown and walk over to wrap the two now-sleeping children ('_Finally,_' she thought) in their silk blankets.

Taking the two in her arms, she walked out the door.

XxXxX

"_It's fun to mess with you hero types," she laughed out, "The look on your face! I would pay to see that again."_

_Link narrowed his eyes, but smiled. "Oh," he said in a fake evil tone, "You will pay, my dear Midna." She caught his meaning and actually wanted to start running. She knew what he was going to do. She began to squirm but Link grabbed her belly and tickled her._

_Though she never liked that he knew her weakness, she enjoyed their moments like this one. She looked forward to the day he'd ask for her hand, even though that wasn't for a while._

_For now, at least, all she could do was wait for his true courage to show his heart's true feelings as she laughed out loud and tried to tickle him too._

XxXxX

The lone figure rode the beautiful mare (much too large for him) towards Hyrule Castle as fast as the injured horse's legs would allow. Occasionally they stopped to rest briefly, but never more than three minutes.

He looked at his new sword. It was strange, but with it he had fought off those monsters. If he had only remembered Link's last words to him before he left to rule over the Twilight Realm.

'_I'm leaving you in charge now, Colin. Keep them safe... Oh, and take care of Epona for me, too._'

'_I'll take care of the rest of my family, Link,_' thought Colin, the last resident of Ordon, as he and Epona made their way across the bloody battlefield and towards Hyrule Castle. He could sense Link and Ganondorf were there. But someone else was there too. '_Who?_' he wondered. He couldn't tell. The only thing he could sense at this point was the great power the unknown man held.

A massive explosion came from the castle's higher towers. From his time at Link's knighting ceremony he could tell it came from the throne room.

He had to hurry.

XxXxX

Link ran across the room for the Master Sword that lay near the throne Zelda once sat on. Ganondorf had Siegfried by the throat, slowly tightening his grip on both Soul Edge and Siegfried's neck. When he reached his sword, Link reached into his pouch and threw the Gale Boomerang at his other sword. Its powerful winds picked up the sword and sent it flying back towards him. As soon as his hand grasped the hilt he threw the black sword at Ganondorf's right leg, unwilling to aim any higher in case Ganondorf turned around, causing him to accidentally kill Siegfried instead.

The sword found itself stuck deep in Ganondorf's leg. He let out a growl in anger and, slightly shocked to admit it, pain. He loosened his grip slightly on Siegfried's neck but threw him towards Link, who was running in their direction. Link rolled under Siegfried, and when his feet were firmly on the ground while he was still rolling, he lunged forward with the Master Sword, crying out in anger and emotional pain.

Ganondorf, not expecting a move such as this, recoiled slightly under Link's force. The attack went right through his right upper leg and black blood oozed from the wound.

As he swung Soul Edge at Link, only to miss him again, he saw the splint on Link's leg and smiled. When Link stood, he charged, Ganondorf stood there, waiting for Link to get in reach.

When he was, Ganondorf swung Soul Edge. Link jumped over the blade, and while he was in mid front flip, Ganondorf grabbed his leg and slammed him down on the ground, Link's sword still in his own leg.

Link muttered in pain, not wanting to reveal it to Ganondorf, though he already knew. Ganondorf raised his foot and brought it down on the splint. The splint broke, and he stomped once more on Link's leg.

This time, Link screamed in absolute agony.

XxXxX

Midna stood stock-still. Either she was imagining it, or the man she loved was in pain. She checked once more on their children in the nursery before running as fast as she could to the Palace gates.

She wasn't surprised to see at least ten royal guards standing there. This confirmed to her that Link had gone to fight Ganondorf. She took a deep breath and threw her hands up, and black Twilight chains came up from the ground wrapping themselves around the guards before they knew what was happening.

She smiled and ran at top speed past them, but before she could move much past the town's first house, a pair of hands grabbed her from behind.

Thinking it was someone who wanted to kill her for marrying Link, Midna spun around and prepared a shadow sphere in her right hand. Shildow however, grabbed that hand's wrist and pushed her inside Marxa's house.

XxXxX

"_So I can't have it, even with this..." Iska reached out to Soul Calibur and Soul Edge with his left hand as he lay on the floor on his stomach. Then slumped to the floor, breathing heavily._

_Siegfried lessened his grip on Requiem and let it hang in his left hand. Iska laughed, barely able to do so because Siegfried had hurt him so much._

"_Yeah, I guess this is just... life. The righteous don't always win out in the end." He turned over to lie on his back. "Siegfried." Siegfried didn't want to stay, but as he was only fourteen his emotions didn't know how to handle it. "No matter how good your friends are, they will betray you. Yes. You will be betrayed. Some day, you'll be consumed with the desire for power once more. What is true power? I don't... care anymore. You guys can figure it out," He reached up with his hands. "Ilona, I just," he took a moist breath, "Just wanted you to..." Iska slumped down, his hands going down to either side of himself and his head to the left, his red and blue eyes still open._

XxXxX

Siegfried ran over in anger and hatred. He raised Soul Calibur and jumped high in the air. He brought his sword down upon Ganondorf. The Evil King merely chuckled and grabbed the Holy Sword, throwing it and Siegfried against a nearby pillar. The pillar broke under the force.

Ganondorf smiled as the rubble fell on top of Siegfried. He slowly walked over to the boy who had taken everything from him in their last battle, Soul Edge rising slowly only to be soon brought back down upon Link.

XxXxX

_Siegfried swung his sword over his left shoulder and attached it to the clip-like device that held it there. He then walked up to the Soul Edge, which was implanted in the ground. He held it in his left hand and looked down at Iska, his once good friend._

"_What were we able to protect with the power we gained, Iska?" he said. "In the end," he turned around to face the exit, "I wasn't able to protect anything," He stopped with his back to Iska and looked back at him over his right shoulder. "Not even you, my friend." Siegfried walked to the entrance without another glance. "But," his eyes began to blank out in darkness, "This is _NOT_ THE END FOR ME!"_

_Nightmare was born that day._

XxXxX

Colin rushed into the throne room, his new sword firmly in hand. When he entered and saw Link about to die, he quickly raised his sword. "HEAL!" he yelled. Flowers of yellow and pink with green leaves appeared above Link, bell-like, and instantly he felt more alive than ever before. His leg felt like it had never been broken or shattered. He felt like he could defeat Ganondorf again. Link looked up and saw Soul Edge coming down to chop off his head. He quickly rolled around Ganondorf so he was now at his back and pulled out his sword from Ganondorf's leg.

With his two swords firmly in hand he jumped up in a spinning motion, cutting into Ganondorf's back with the two blades. When he landed, Link back-flipped away from the wild swing of the Soul Edge.

Siegfried bashed his way out of the rubble, panting. Colin raised his key-like sword and the same thing that happened to Link happened to Siegfried.

XxXxX

_Siegfried, or Nightmare as he was now, looked angered at the sight of this new warrior. The boy looked no older than twenty at the most. He wore a green tunic, white pants and brown boots and gloves. Over the gloves was a golden pair of gauntlets. Atop his head was a very strange floppy green hat. And around his neck was a necklace with the last six shards of Soul Edge._

_The boy drew his own sword in his left, and in his right he drew the spirit sword, Soul Calibur._

XxXxX

Link didn't ask where Colin got his new sword, but he was going to ask why it seemed to strike fear into Ganondorf, for he seemed to back up a few steps and his eyes hadn't left it yet.

"Thanks," Link said to the thirteen year old.

"Just kill him!" Colin muttered in anger. Link may have lost his friends in this world but Colin had lost his family also.

XxXxX

"_COLIN, GET INSIDE!" Rusl yelled as another shadow-like creature turned back into darkness at the hand of his blade._

"_NO, DAD," he yelled back, "I'M NOT LEAVING YOU TO FIGHT ALONE THIS TIME!" Colin rushed up with his old sword. It was the sword Link had given him as a farewell gift. Though he was nowhere near as strong as his father, Colin was not standing on the sidelines _this_ time._

_Ignoring his father's protests, Colin stood with his back to him, sword at the ready in his right hand. The beings tried to attack but with the two men back-to-back there was very little if any opening in their defense. Each time one or the other swung their blades one or more shadow beings disappeared into darkness._

_Then, Ganondorf came onto the battlefield._

XxXxX

"**Not bad, kid,**" Ganondorf said to Colin, "**Not bad at all,**" he smirked, "**I never would have guessed YOU of all people would be chosen to wield the Keyblade. But just try to stop me when I have the soul of the Twilight Queen and her followers!**" Soul Edge glowed a few seconds, then Ganondorf's cape morphed into a pair of black and red-rimmed feathered wings.

Link didn't suspect Ganondorf could actually fly with those; they were too small for his size. But when Ganondorf started to hover, he began to wonder what those Soul Swords could do.

Ganondorf let out one last evil laugh before quickly flying out of the throne room and towards the Gerudo Desert.

"GANONDORF! COME BACK HERE, YOU BASTARD!" Link yelled after him, but it was no use. He was gone, and Link couldn't stop him this time.

XxXxX

"Why are you trying to stop me, Shildow?" Midna yelled in anger as Shildow and a woman about his age held her down on a couch.

"I made a promise to keep you out of danger until Link returns," he shot back. "I also made a promise to protect you when I came into the royal guard." When she still didn't seem to give in he sighed and sat down on a chair opposite the couch. "And if that's not good enough, think of your children, Midna."

She didn't like it, but Shildow had a point. Link might be in danger, but that didn't mean she could go running off without considering their newborns. She slowly stood. She could see he was ready to keep his promise, and smiled. "I'm not going anywhere," she said.

"Then what, may I ask, are you going to do?" he questioned with an eyebrow raised. The smile disappeared from the queen's face, replaced with a look of pain in her eyes.

"I'm going to lock the door!" she said before walking across the threshold.

XxXxX

_Ganondorf smiled at what he had found. The thing that could make his revenge perfect:_

_Soul Edge._

_He watched, as Siegfried took up Soul Edge's opposite: Soul Calibur. As he grasped the hilt, its small and weak-looking blade morphed into a larger, much more impressive size._

_Siegfried and Nightmare rushed together. Soul Edge was weak, Ganondorf knew. If he let the two do battle now, his only chance would be gone. He raised his right hand and created an explosion at the spot where the two swords met. The explosion sent both beings into the darkness at either sides of the platform they stood on. Siegfried fell into the waters as the darkness destroyed the cathedral._

_Nightmare fell into the darkness and was sent to a remote location, where Ganondorf was sending the shards of Soul Edge._

'Soon,_' he thought, '_soon I shall be able to have the perfect revenge on you, _hero_._' Ganondorf smiled and opened a dark portal as the cathedral fell into shambles._

XxXxX

"DAMN IT!" Link kicked some rubble on the ground in anger. His toe would probably bleed, but at the moment he didn't care.

"Calm down, Link," Colin tried to say, but Link's anger was too much right now, and he cut him off.

"CALM DOWN? HOW CAN I POSSIBLY CALM DOWN? GANONDORF IS OUT THERE, GOING TO DETSROY THE ONLY HOME I HAVE LEFT, AND YOU SAY 'CALM DOWN'?" He let his voice go down to a whisper, "Do you even know what he did? What he is capable of doing?"

"Where do you think I was?" Colin said, his own voice barely audible from the pain. Not a pain that could be healed with a simple potion, but the kind that took time and a strong heart to heal. "I had to watch my own parents die in front of my eyes. You may have not noticed, but other people have family to love too!"

Siegfried watched in silence as Link sighed. He knew Link was the kind to feel other people's pain, but he never thought of him to be the kind to totally break down at his own.

"I'm sorry, Colin," he said. "It's just, this is all my fault. I could've saved everyone from this..."

"Don't say another word!" Siegfried stepped in suddenly. He reached out his hand and took hold of Link's shoulder. "If you were to blame," he smiled, "Whom would the people turn to when they needed a hero?"

Hero...

The word echoed inside Link's head as if it were empty.

'_She used to say I was her hero,_' he thought, thinking back to when they were first dating.

XxXxX

"_Well?" he asked her as he sat her down on his lap. "What do you think?"_

"_It's beautiful, Link," she whispered in awe as the sunset sank behind a mountain. She clung to his tunic in wonder as the lights seemed to dance in the sky. Shades of pink and red and orange and many more performed their dance for the new lovers. "I wish I could see things like this with you every night for the rest of my life."_

"_You can always come back to me, Midna."_

_She looked back to him and smiled._

"_I know I can always count on a hero. You are a hero, Link. Don't ever let anyone tell you different."_

XxXxX

Link looked out to the position of the sun. The roof had been blown off with the explosion. It was 5:30. This used to be his favorite time of the day, when the sun would light the sky perfectly to bring out the blue of it. Even though she was from the Twilight, Midna loved it too. Why? He didn't know.

'_Maybe it's something I'll never know,_' he thought before letting a single tear fall from his eye.

"So. It's over?" Colin asked in fear.

Link looked back to Colin and Siegfried. Both were looking at him with understanding in their eyes. That, and a sadness of their own could be seen by the once-great hero. '_They're counting on you, Link,_' he told himself. The voice sounded very much like Midna's. '_You can't give in now!_'

Gathering the remains of his strength, Link sheathed his swords and walked up to his friends. He put his left hand on Siegfried's right shoulder and his right hand on Colin's left.

"Not if we hold true to each other," he started. He looked into Siegfried's eyes. "We will not let anymore people we care about be tormented to death." He looked to Colin, "Not when we still can!" He walked over to the throne and picked up his hat. "Let's kick some bad guy butt." He smiled at the last words and ran out the open double doors.

Siegfried and Colin smiled to each other before Siegfried sheathed Soul Calibur and Colin's 'Keyblade' disappeared in a shaft of light. Then the two of them ran after Link.

XxXxX

"_Link, Hero of Twilight, will you take Princess Midna of the Twilight to be your wedded wife, to love and cherish and protect until death do you part?" The minister, a Twili named Dayvon, addressed the young groom, a holy book in his left hand._

"_I will!" Link replied, without a second thought. His heart was pumping, but he was ready. Ready for the responsibilities of being a father. Midna stood in front of him. Only himself, Shildow, Midna and his friends in Ordon knew she was pregnant._

_Marxa stood behind Midna, as she was her maid of honor. Colin was Link's best man and Shildow carried the ring._

_The minister smiled. "And will you, Princess..."_

"_I will!" she said before the Twili could finish. Her eyes showed something Link had seen many times before:_

_A look of absolute love._

_While Link chuckled, Dayvon and Shildow stared at her. Colin smirked._

"_Okay," Dayvon said, "Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and..." he got no farther, for Midna had shoved the flowers into his arms and brought Link's lips to her own._

_They spent their honeymoon in the palace Zelda had made them._

_For now, their life was complete._

XxXxX

**So? Anyone figured what Ganondorf is yet? Yes? No? Need a hint? Well, all you have to know is the symbol on his chest and you should know what he is.**

**Oh, for those of you who didn't really catch that, Link and Midna's children were not planned. Their children were conceived the first time the two of them had sex. And the first time either of them had sex, for that matter.**

**See you next chapter :)**


	9. Last Stand

**Okay, I've kept you in suspense long enough. Chapter IX, battle against Ganondorf: all or nothing, all out, battle to the death, one last struggle, the final fight of Light and Darkness, TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD!**

**Okay, so it is not going to be on the edge of the world... or IS it?**

**Yes, Ganondorf is now a Heartless from the game Kingdom Hearts, and it may seem as if I just made that up to give this thing a twist, but I didn't. I'll explain why I did that at the bottom. If you need help finding it, simply read this story from start to finish and it'll be there. :)**

**Just one last thing before we start the show: Let's recap.**

"**It has been three full years since Ganondorf first tried to take over Hyrule. The Twilight Princess, Midna, wanted to destroy the Mirror of Twilight in order to protect the man she loved, but was stopped when Link showed his true feelings for her.**

**Two years later Link was welcomed by very few into the Twilight as their new King, but over time they grew to love him as they did Midna. And now, just when his family is all but complete, Ganondorf has come out of hiding with a new plan in mind: To eat the souls of many strong bodies and to reach the land of the goddesses with the golden power of the Triforce."**

**Siegfried: Is 23 years old, 5'10" in height, waist length blond hair, and has green eyes.**

**Link: Is 21 years old, 6 foot in height, dirty short blonde hair, and has blue eyes.**

**Colin: Is 13 years old, 5'2" in height, short sandy blonde hair, and has blue eyes.**

**Midna: Is 24 years old, 6'4" in height, long red hair, and has sunset red eyes.**

**Hilde: Is 19 years old, 5'9" in height, long deep red hair, and has hazel eyes.**

**Shildow: Is 27 years old, 6'3" in height, short black hair, and has blood red eyes.**

**Just keep all of this in mind as you read the last of this story.**

**And the list of non-dead people will be listed at the bottom.**

**Enjoy!**

**Oh, yeah. And keep in mind that all this time, Link is wearing his black King's tunic from the Twilight Realm. Not his green one.**

**And you might want listen to this music while the battle goes on. I can't paste it so go to youtube and type in 'Naruto Shippuden Ost 2 track 18- Kokuten'. It's a long name, but trust me, it'll be worth it to hear that good of a battle music!**

**On with the show! :)**

**Chapter IX**

_**Last Stand**_

_(Twilight Realm:_

_Mirror Chamber_

_Fifteen minutes ago.)_

"I made a promise I'd keep you out of there, Your Highness," Shildow said with his hand on his rapier. "If you try anything I will make good on that promise."

"Oh, will you just give it a rest?" Midna sighed. They were standing in front of the Mirror of Twilight, and she was about to lock the door. "He can take care of himself..." Even saying the words, she had doubts. She believed in him. Never had she thought he couldn't defeat Ganondorf.

Moving both of her hands in pattern, she called her ancestors' power and began locking the pathway, closing her eyes and mumbling ancient words. She didn't understand the words, nor did she really care to. All she cared for now was the safety of her people.

Though she had faith in Link, she knew what Ganondorf most likely had if he had already gotten to Zelda.

The mirror gave a sudden flash of pink light, then went dark. The only light it showed was that of the Twilight's light reflecting off its round surface. Midna, the Queen of Twilight shed a single tear.

XxXxX

_(World of Light:_

_Mirror Chamber_

_Current time)_

Ganondorf stood in front of the Mirror, drinking in his victory. Even if the boy had the Keyblade, he was still no match for the power he was about to achieve. His wings were gone and replaced with his cape once again.

This was it! He had spent three long years waiting for this moment: The perfect revenge. He had started with the princess, turning her into a powerful being of darkness. Then to where Siegfried had been raised where he killed most of the people who had tried to stop Nightmare. He wasn't able to kill all of them, but it was enough for satisfaction. He then went to Link's home, and the real revenge took take place there:

He turned his father figure into the same kind of monster as the princess and then did as he pleased with his childhood friend. He smiled. She didn't offer much satisfaction to him either, all that struggling.

He reached out his hand and touched the cool surface of the mirror, smiling. He then turned to the large black stone standing just a few feet behind him. He walked onto the golden platform, but the silver lights that made up the steps didn't appear.

"Clever, bitch," he muttered in amusement. Ganondorf raised his right hand, Soul Edge firmly in his left and summoned his new dark powers.

The dark creators he now knew to be called 'Heartless' appeared at their master's call from within the shadows that surrounded the mirror. The 'Heartless' had many forms, most common of which were the shadow-like ones that resembled something like a hunched baby with two antenna and large, gold eyes. There were larger versions of this, but not as many of them. There was another 'Heartless' that resembled a small child-knight figure, another like a balloon with gold eyes, antennas, a large set of teeth that seemed to be a part of the Heartless' body, and a small tail-like antenna was on the bottom of the ball-like 'Heartless', even ones that were all but a black solid ball of smoke. And one other Heartless was tall. It wore a suit of blue armor and a large shield in its left hand. The shield also had a dog's head on it, and the dog was a living thing.

Only the armored Heartless had the Heart symbol on their chests, but the others were Heartless as well.

Ganondorf walked calmly to the rock and stood right in front of it.

"**Try locking THESE out!**" he said as he impaled Soul Edge through the black rock. As he did, faint markings appeared on its surface, and the Heartless moved towards it. The Heartless moved as the shadows they were and moved towards the narrow portal. Once the Twilight was infested with them, Ganondorf would be King and he would be able to unlock the Mirror of Twilight.

"**I was wondering when you'd get here,**" he said with a smile as he felt multiple presences behind him, but didn't turn around.

Link, Siegfried and Colin stood at the entrance to the Mirror Chamber. Two of them had unreadable looks on their faces, but on Link the emotions could be read like an open book.

His face showed absolute fear.

Ganondorf turned around to face the warriors of light and held out his hand. Soul Edge came out of the black rock and the Heartless stopped moving, awaiting their master's command. "**I am a reasonable man,**" he said, "**If you wish it, I can spare your lives and you can live as my servants for eternity. You can live forever.**"

Siegfried and Colin both looked at Link, he stood in the middle of the three of them, and they waited for his say.

"You," Link began, he lost his voice at the thought of those creatures taking the only things he loved left away. Then he tried again, "You can count on one thing." He looked Ganondorf in the eyes, sapphire blue meeting evil yellow. "That I will _never_ join _you_!" As if to drive the point home, Link drew his two swords from their sheaths and shot daggers towards his archenemy. His eyes, usually deep and caring and clear, were now filled with nothing but anger and hate for the Gerudo standing in front of them.

Siegfried and Colin smiled at their friend and drew their own blades. Soul Calibur and Colin's Keyblade joined the light of the midday sun.

Colin's Keyblade was simply his old sword, the one Link had given him after he had received the Master Sword, except now it was enveloped by two vines. The two vines were wrapped around the blade all the way to the tip where they twisted to the side to form the teeth of a key. In the teeth part the vines shrunk and formed the horns of Ordona, only straighter. The vines went down all the way to the hilt of the sword and spread out in an oval-like way around the handle, with a chain at the end with an emblem of the head of an Ordon goat.

Ganondorf merely chuckled at the four swords aimed at him, then lightly threw Soul Edge into is weapon hand, his right, and glared in turn towards Link. "**All of you, faithless fools who would dare take up arms against the King of Light and Darkness. So you chose, and so you shall feel my wrath!**"

Ganondorf lunged forward with himself and Soul Edge at the three heroes, only to have the sword meet air. Link had jumped up and over him in a front-flip as Siegfried and Colin rolled over to the sides. As Link spun in front-flip over Ganondorf, both the Master Sword and the Twilight Blade met the back of Ganondorf's head, but the power of the Heartless healed the large wound within a few seconds. In that time however, Siegfried came up from behind him and swung his sword to his right, knocking Ganondorf forward and farther away from the mirror, a large and deep cut in his back.

"COLIN!" Link yelled as the youth was about to move forward to help, "STOP THOSE THINGS BEFORE THEY ENTER THE TWILIGHT!" He indicated the black stone and the Heartless moving towards it. Colin nodded and ran over to them, his weapon swinging at and on the Heartless before they could retaliate.

Link turned his attention back to Ganondorf only to find himself dodging Soul Edge's cursed blade. He rolled to the right and swung up with his two swords and struck Ganondorf's side. But the attack didn't do very much.

Ganondorf chuckled as he grabbed the crystal-like blade of Soul Calibur as Siegfried swung it at him. He grunted a little in slight discomfort at Soul Calibur's light force, but that didn't stop him from pulling it from Siegfried's hands and throwing it back at him.

Siegfried caught Soul Calibur and spun in attack. Ganondorf blocked with Soul Edge in his right hand and with his left summoned a sphere of darkness and threw it at Siegfried. The Darkness hit its mark and Siegfried went flying back. It was clear that Ganondorf's darkness was much more powerful than Nightmare's had been. They needed to keep that in mind.

Colin swung the Keyblade at one Heartless and then another as the first was destroyed. He looked toward Ganondorf and saw Siegfried sent flying back from the darkness. For a moment he thought of helping them, but he decided against it as one rather large Heartless approaching to attack. He jabbed the Keyblade forward and that Heartless was sent back to the Darkness.

Link jumped onto Ganondorf's back with his swords crossed in front of his neck. This would have worked had Ganondorf not thrown himself onto his back. This time Link was not fast enough and was squished by Ganondorf's back. Ganondorf jumped upright and uppercut an approaching Siegfried. The punch caught him in the jaw and he was once again sent back onto the sand.

Siegfried landed hard. He slowly brought himself to his hands and knees and coughed up blood from Ganondorf's powerful strike. Grabbing Soul Calibur with his left hand, he wiped the blood spilling from his mouth with the back of his right.

Siegfried slowly stood, so as to not strain his muscles. Blood dripped from his lips onto his chin as he turned to face Ganondorf.

Ganondorf smiled at Siegfried and turned to Link, who was very much in pain. Link had let go of the Twilight Blade and was holding onto his chest, which was not broken, thank the goddesses, but was surely going to leave a large bruise. When Siegfried ran up to attack, Ganondorf simply whirledd around and swung the flat of Soul Edge at Siegfried, catching him in the stomach and bringing him to his knees in pain.

"**Why do you even try,**" Ganondorf asked the kneeling Siegfried, "**When you know you cannot win?**" He tossed Soul Edge into his left hand and held up the back of his right hand at Siegfried and clenched it into a fist. "**Why do you think you can stop a god?**" Siegfried looked up and his eyes and mouth went wide in shock and fear.

On the back of Ganondorf's hand was the triangular shape he had seen before, but instead of only one golden triangle, there were two of them, the top one, and the bottom left one.

The Triforces of wisdom and power!

Ganondorf smiled. "**You remember that bitch, Taki?**" he said. Siegfried nodded slowly, knowing the best way to stop him was to stall until Link was ready again. "**Well, you will be glad to know she fought bravely. All the way until the inevitable, 'sticky', end.**"

Siegfried couldn't remember a time he had ever been this mad at a single person aside from Nightmare. Not only had Taki, the only female ninja he knew of, been a valuable battle partner, but she also was once his good friend, before he had fallen to Nightmare the first time.

"You truly are a sick bastard!" he muttered in pure anger.

"**Well,**" Ganondorf smiled, "**To each his own.**"

Colin destroyed another Heartless, but then he was struck in the back by one of the largest of the small army of Heartless. He gave a grunt of pain and dropped to his left knee. The Heartless took their opportunity and made their way to the black stone. Even though the Mirror was locked, the Heartless were made of pure darkness and could make their own pathways. As the Heartless touched the stone, puddles of darkness formed on the surface of the rock and the Heartless moved into the Twilight Realm.

"NO!" Colin yelled. He quickly got up and slashed out at random Heartless. Heartless large and small were destroyed as the young man's Keyblade slashed through them.

Then all the Heartless disappeared in flashes of darkness.

"Wha...?" he said, looking around. He turned around and saw Ganondorf holding up his right hand with his fingers spread, and a large smile was on his face.

"**There only needs to be one of them,**" he said in satisfaction, even though there were more then one now inside the Twilight. "**As long as one exists in the Twilight, that whore who calls herself a queen will surely beg for mercy before the day is out.**"

Link grabbed his black fallen sword and threw it at Ganondorf's back with a yell of anger. The blade sunk deeply into his skin and he let out a growl of anger and pain. "TALK THAT WAY ABOUT MY WIFE AGAIN AND IT'LL BE THE LAST WORDS THAT COME OUT OF YOUR TWISTED MOUTH, YOU BASTARD!" Link yelled in absolute hatred.

Link ran forward to Ganondorf and jumped onto his sword's handle and used it to jump over Ganondorf's head. He raised the sword in his hand, the Master Sword, and brought it over his head in a front flip and caught Ganondorf's face in it.

Ganondorf stumbled back a few feet in pain, his back bent backwards. His face didn't bleed, but there was indeed a very large black gash right down the middle of it.

Link landed nimbly on the ground and he and Siegfried ran to Ganondorf, swords in hand. Whether by luck or by sure need for victory, Siegfried swung his sword to the right fully around himself before they reached Ganondorf. Link jumped and he landed on top of Siegfried's swinging blade. Siegfried twisted his blade so the flat of it was facing Ganondorf and Link was shot forward towards the evil man at a speed much faster then any man could see.

But Ganondorf saw it.

Ganondorf's face had been healed by the power of darkness. He tightened his grip on Soul Edge and swung it at the flying hero.

Link prepared his sword, let go an anger filled battle cry and shot past Ganondorf, swinging his sword all the way to the left with both his hands. A small explosion racked the Mirror Chamber from where Link had shot past.

The tip of Soul Edge landed in the sand and Link landed on his feet some meters away, the Master Sword to his left in his outstretched left hand.

No one moved.

Then Link fell to his left knee.

Ganondorf had been struck, but Link had also been hit. Blood from a very large leg wound stained his white pants and the blade of Soul Edge.

Ganondorf smiled as the large cut through his vital organ was healed, then lifted Soul Edge to his face. Link's blood slowly dripped down the razor sharp edge of the blade, causing Ganondorf to smile.

He opened his mouth and licked the blade clean.

Link suddenly felt a sharp, piercing pain go through his body and shouted to the sky in agony. Gold light flowed out of his eyes and mouth and leaked from his pores. Ganondorf smiled as he felt a familiar power radiate from his right hand. He closed his eyes for a moment to drink in Link's pain. When Link stopped screaming, he fell face down in the sand, unconscious. Ganondorf opened his eyes again, and Siegfried, who had been watching Link, stepped back in horror as he saw Ganondorf's eyes.

They glowed a golden yellow, the power of all three pieces of the Triforce. The golden light that once came from Link's left hand was gone.

The golden Triforces of Wisdom, Courage, and Power glowed a bright golden light from Ganondorf's right hand, and he smiled as he felt its power. He laughed to the sky, his voice deeper than the deepest pits of hell. He then locked eyes with the knight staring in shock in front of him, still smiling. "**I thank you for everything you have done,**" he said, "**Now, I have no more need of you.**" He raised his right hand, Soul Edge in his left.

The sky turned black. Thunderclouds formed in its once blue beauty. Siegfried looked to the sky in wonder and fear. The last time he had seem anything like this had been when he had created the Evil Seed by grabbing Soul Edge all those years ago. The power of darkness filled the sky until you could barely see the sun. The clouds twisted and spun as tornadoes formed within them.

"STOP!" Colin yelled. The youth ran toward Ganondorf. He jumped into the air and brought the Keyblade down upon what was meant to be Ganondorf's head. Ganondorf simply reached up, grabbed the sword and threw Colin into one of the six sages' pillars, nearly breaking it and the fourteen year old.

"What the hell did you do, you bastard?" Siegfried yelled, running over to Link. The concern only made Ganondorf laugh more.

"**I simply took what was rightfully mine,**" he said as he showed Siegfried the full and completed Triforce on the back of his right hand. "**When a person holds part of the Triforce, the Triforce is a part of the wielder's soul. There are a few ways to switch control of it. But by drinking the blood of one who holds the Triforce, that piece is ripped from the soul and reappears in the other's. I'd say the odds of living are one in ten against him, so if you have any of those 'last rights' bullshit to give him, you should say them now.**"

Siegfried rushed in out of his own anger. He raised Soul Calibur as he jumped high in the air and brought the blade down upon Ganondorf's head. Ganondorf didn't flinch, but let the attack hit its mark... Why?

What was left of Ganondorf's face was smiling. He extended his right hand out to Siegfried and touched his armor. Siegfried's insides twisted and turned and he was blasted back from Ganondorf. He landed hard on his back with a thud and gasped for air, as if his lungs, his heart, and many other vital organs had been damaged by that one touch.

They had.

Ganondorf's laughter was hard and cold. He looked at Link where he lay unmoving, then walked to the Mirror, his face healing as he went.

"**Although the door is locked,**" he said smugly, "**Even that bitch cannot stop my power now.**" Ganondorf raised his right hand, touched its cold class surface, and the portal began to open. Siegfried took a deep breath to steady himself and rushed him. But Ganondorf simply waved his hand and Siegfried was sent flying back once more. This time it felt like the weight of a stone pillar was on top of him, and he couldn't get back up, no matter how hard he tried.

"**Witness my power. Witness the destruction of the Twilight. Behold my strength and bow to my reign.**" As he stepped onto the platform, the silver steps appeared in front of him, leading to the now active portal.

"NO!" Link yelled as he stood. He threw a small round object at the portal. The small silver object entered the Twilight as cracks began to fill the once shining frame of the mirror. In a matter of seconds the cracks filled its smooth surface.

And the Mirror of Twilight shattered.

The steps beneath Ganondorf's feet disappeared and the portal vanished, but he simply floated softly to the ground. Once his feet landed, he turned slowly to Link, the anger clearly showing in his eyes.

"**I can't say I am surprised,**" he said calmly, "**To be honest I would have been if you **_**had**_** died.**"

Link stood, panting. Tears fell from his own eyes as the remnants of the glass fell and reflected what little light there was left. He then looked at Ganondorf, and showed no fear in facing the man, even without the Triforce.

Ganondorf smiled. "**You are either very brave or very, very stupid,**" he said, to which Link smiled too.

"Right now," he said, still smiling. "I'm simply in love." A single tear fell down his face as he thought of Midna, but he continued to smile.

"**You fools and your beliefs,**" Ganondorf's smile turned into a sneer. "**You really think this will keep **_**me**_** out forever?**"

Sadly, he didn't. He knew with all that power, Ganondorf would, eventually, be able to create another mirror, and he would take over the Twilight Realm or what was left of it after the Heartless' attack.

But still he continued to smile.

The Hero and King of Twilight slowly reached down and grasped the Master Sword. When he stood tall once more, he smiled his lopsided grin at Ganondorf, mocking him.

"Let's finish this!" he said.

Siegfried stared in awe at the man's courage. How could he have the strength to stand after everything that happened to him, let alone fight?

"**I look forward to seeing your Heartless, **_**Hero**_**.**" Ganondorf smiled and slowly walked towards him.

Link placed his sword so the flat of it was in front of his face. Holding it in two hands, he lowered the sword and slowly moved it to hold in his left hand.

Ganondorf smiled again. He held Soul Edge high in the air and it morphed into something much like the long broadsword he had the first time they fought.

Link flipped his sword in his hand a few times, then with his right hand he indicated to come closer… that he was ready for him.

"Come and get it," he said.

Without warning, Link charged Ganondorf. Without thinking, without hesitation and without any thoughts of turning back or giving up.

Link swung his sword upwards and Ganondorf swung his down. Soul Edge caught the Master Sword and brought it to the ground. With great speed, Ganondorf raised it again and stabbed at Link. Link dodged the attack by rolling to the left. When he reached his feet he jumped up and swung his sword to the right, which Ganondorf easily blocked. The sword went from the left to the right and Link then raised the sword from the jump and came down. When the sword touched the sand a small explosion blasted outward five feet around in all directions, sending grains of sand high in the air. The force of the strike made Ganondorf slide back in the sand a few feet, creating tracks in the sand as he stood through the attack. Ganondorf advanced again. This time he jumped into the air, spun around at least twice and landed behind Link. He swung Soul Edge to the right and Link barely had enough time to roll forward to avoid the killing blow. Ganondorf came again, and again and again, raining blow after blow at Link, trying to break the young King's defenses. Sparks flew every time the two swords made contact with each other from the pure force of the two wielder's strength.

Link ducked one attack and stabbed upward, catching Ganondorf in the side of his stomach. He quickly retracted his sword and jumped back away from Soul Edge. Ganondorf swung again. This time Link jumped on top of the blade. Using the momentum, Link leaped forward and stabbed Ganondorf through the face.

Link kicked off of the man and back-flipped away. With his sword in hand, he ran up to finish him off.

The power of darkness healed Ganondorf's wounds, and he threw his fist at Link, catching him off guard and throwing him back. Link rolled onto his feet just in time to get bombarded by Ganondorf's wild attacks. More sparks flew through the air when the swords clashed, and this time Link couldn't afford to jump on top of Soul Edge.

Link's left arm started to grow tired from the rain of strikes that came from Soul Edge and Ganondorf, so, when the attacks stopped for just the slightest moment, he switched to his right. Just then, Soul Edge came down upon the Master Sword, and stayed there.

Link and Ganondorf stood stock still a few moments, both looking into the other's eyes, trying to detect any form of weakening within his opponent. The sparks flew like crazy as the two swords stayed frozen in place, every so often making contact with one of the fighters' faces or shoulders.

Link then got an idea. It was crazy, but one he was willing to try. He gave up the fight for dominance and sidestepped. Ganondorf, not expecting non-resistance, fell forward slightly and stumbled. Link took his opportunity and attacked Ganondorf's back. Seeing his other sword still stuck in it, he cut around the black handle and left many new cuts and gashes in the monster's back.

Ganondorf roared in anger, and spun around with Soul Edge pointing straight out. After the first long gash entered Link's body Ganondorf lunged and slashed at great speed and Link was caught by the sword in the chest, legs, a part of his left cheek, and many more cuts on his arms, hands, and even one on his neck. He coughed up blood as more of the red liquid oozed from the wounds and he fell to the ground.

Sensing victory, Ganondorf stepped forward slowly to Link. He stood a few seconds for the darkness to fully heal the wounds on his own body before looking down to see Link breathing heavily in the sand.

Siegfried managed to break free from most of the dark powers holding him, but was not of any use to his near murdered friend. Colin slowly kneeled; he rubbed his head and shook it, trying to clear the fuzz from it. The both of them looked up in time to see Ganondorf approaching Link.

Ganondorf stopped walking and reached behind his back to pull out the black sword. He cringed in slight pain as it came out and his darkness began to heal himself. He resumed his approach to Link again.

Link opened his eyes to look up at Ganondorf, who stood towering over him, his gold eyes bearing down on the hero.

"**You duel well,**" he admitted, then smiled. "**But not good enough.**" He held the black sword up, examining it. "**This really is a beautiful blade, but it will be ever more so when it has your blood on it,**" He smiled. "**As a decoration.**" Ganondorf raised the sword Midna gave to Link and stabbed down. Link closed his eyes.

But nothing came, only grains of sand that landed on his face.

Link slowly opened his eyes. A few splatters of blood fell onto his cheeks, and his eyes went wide.

The thing that stopped the blade was Colin's body.

Ganondorf was surprised, but nonetheless pleased. "**Brave of you, boy,**" he said. With the Keyblade gone, nothing would be able to lock his power. "**But you're just like your friend down there, oblivious to common knowledge.**"

Colin coughed up a large amount of blood, staining his shirt and his chin. His arms fell limp, the Keyblade still firmly in his right hand. With his last reserves of strength, Colin reached up with his left hand and grabbed the sword and looked up the man who made him kill his own father.

XxXxX

_Ganondorf stepped out onto the battlefield, an evil smile on his ugly face._

"_COLIN. GET. IN. SIDE!" Rusl yelled._

"_I AM NOT LEAVING!" Colin yelled back to his father. The two stood back-to-back, oblivious to the danger of Ganondorf._

_Ganondorf raised his left hand, as Soul Edge was in his right, and more Heartless appeared from the darkness._

_The Heartless surrounded the two, but didn't move to attack. Colin and Rusl looked around themselves, stunned, but they didn't lower their swords._

_That was when Colin saw Ganondorf._

"_DAD, LOOK OUT!" he yelled as Ganondorf lunged, but it was too late, for Ganondorf already had Rusl by the throat and had knocked Colin out of the way._

_Colin fell to the ground and rolled a few times before he managed to stop and stand up, only to watch in horror as his father underwent a hideous transformation. It began with his hair, from its usual short, dark sandy blonde, to long, jet-black, and slimy-looking. Rusl was able to let go one final cry of pain before he went silent and limp. Ganondorf let the man go and Rusl landed on the short, bloodstained grass. When he turned around to face Colin, the boy felt like crying. His father's eyes were now blood red and veins could be seen pulsing around them. His skin had gone a darker color, and a heart symbol showed on his chest._

"_**Obliterate them all!**__" Ganondorf ordered Rusl, or what he had been changed into. The thing that was once Colin's father nodded, smiled, and charged the villagers, knowing exactly where they were all hiding._

XxXxX

It had taken all of his courage to fight his father, and when he did, it was too late, for the monster Ganondorf had created had killed all of the villagers.

But Rusl was still there.

XxXxX

_At the end of it all, Rusl lay on the ground. The heart symbol was gone from his chest, and he was smiling up at the boy holding the Keyblade. No. Not a boy anymore. In Rusl's eyes, Colin was a man. A hero._

"_Thank you..." he choked out, Colin was kneeling beside him. "Colin. My son. Go to Link. Stop Ganondorf. I... I... I know you..." Rusl closed his eyes as he cringed in pain and Colin began to cry. Rusl took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "I know you will be able to help Link stop him."_

_With that, Rusl smiled, reached up, and put his shaking hand on Colin's shoulder. He slowly brought Colin down and gave him the last hug he would ever give to anyone._

_Ever again._

_Rusl's hand slumped to the side, and he breathed no more._

_Colin would have cried out to the goddesses in agony, but the Heartless denied him that. They attacked him again and again until one of them blew up and sent him flying into one of the burned down houses, the debris falling on top of him._

_Not two minutes later, he could hear Link shoveling graves for their family._

XxXxX

"I'd rather be like him than like you," Colin spat out at Ganondorf.

With the Keyblade in his right hand, he took a good hold on the blade that now pierced threw him, and yanked himself forward, thrusting his Keyblade through Ganondorf's chest as well and turned it clockwise ninety degrees.

Ganondorf's eyes went wide and he cried out in agony and pulled out the sword from Colin's stomach as a ball of light exploded from where the Keyblade had struck him. From the sphere of light came three golden triangles. The Triforces of Wisdom, Power, and Courage had been locked inside Ganondorf by the power of the Heartless. With the power of the Colin's Keyblade, they had been unsealed and now floated high in the air, ready to be taken.

But Link was not interested in the Triforce at that moment. He watched in horror as Colin slumped to the ground. "COLIN!" he yelled as he picked himself up. He limped over and held Colin's head lightly in his arms. Colin coughed blood and Link's anger got the better of him. He turned his eyes toward Ganondorf, baring his teeth and quickly stood tall, forgetting his fatigue and the pain in his body. He ran towards the monster in attack.

Ganondorf fell to his knee, panting. When he saw Link he acted faster than most men would have been able to see and swung Soul Edge one last time.

Link, however, saw the attack, and slipped through it, swinging the Master Sword in an arc-like fashion. He amputated Ganondorf's right hand, causing it and Soul Edge to fall into the sand.

Link jumped up onto Ganondorf's head, leaped high into the air, and grabbed all three peaces of the Triforce. The strength of Wisdom, Power, and Courage flowed through him as he came back down in attack. The Master Sword sliced a long line down the madman's chest.

When his feet were firmly on the ground, Link used his right hand to deliver a powerful uppercut to Ganondorf's chest, sending him high into the black-clouded sky.

Link's eyes glowed brightly with the golden light of the Triforce and he jumped after Ganondorf. His wounds began to heal from the Triforce's power. As he flew after Ganondorf, Link raised his right hand in a fist. Soul Calibur, the Keyblade, his discarded Twilight Blade, and Soul Edge glowed bright gold and flew up to follow Link. The four swords surrounded Ganondorf as he slowed down to float in one place, held by Link's power.

Ganondorf looked at Link as the Master Sword left his hand and flew above Ganondorf to hover there, unmoving, twelve feet above his chest. Link gave Ganondorf one last dagger-piercing glare before flashing over to grab Soul Edge in his right hand. Ignoring its influence, he flew at Ganondorf and sliced through him with the sword in his hand. He ended up right next to Soul Calibur, and he grabbed it. Leaving Soul Edge hovering there, he flew past Ganondorf the exact some way he did with Soul Edge. Then with the Keyblade, and the Twilight Blade, Soul Edge, Keyblade, Soul Calibur, the Twilight Blade, and the Keyblade.

Link sliced through Ganondorf that way for a full minute, then flew up to grab the Master Sword and fell as fast as he could, stabbing Ganondorf through the chest, shattering the heart symbol. The biggest explosion they had ever seen shook the Mirror Chamber in a flash of golden light. The sky slowly turned back to its beautiful blue, but then began to rain. The swords fell and embedded themselves into the sand, and when Link landed he looked up at Ganondorf.

"Stay where you belong," he said. "In my memories."

Ganondorf looked down. Black blood oozed from his mouth and the hundreds of cuts in his body from Link's powerful attack, the Master Sword still in his chest.

"**I w**il**l... n**ev**er be** a **me**mor**y,**" Ganondorf said to him before slowly dissolving into darkness. The Master Sword fell into Link's hand.

Siegfried saw Soul Edge begin to shake. He had never told anyone this, but when and if Soul Calibur was destroyed, he would slowly die.

XxXxX

_Siegfried and Nightmare charged each other. As Soul Calibur and Soul Edge made contact for the first time in years an explosion utterly destroyed the Lost Cathedral the two were fighting in._

_Siegfried fell into the dark abyss, his soul nearly ripped apart from Soul Edge._

_When he regained consciousness, he had a vision of his mother, his father, and what he had done as Nightmare. He looked down and saw Soul Calibur had saved him by covering his armor in crystal, keeping his wounds from killing him, but not able to heal them. Siegfried took the sword and vowed to destroy everything the evil sword had corrupted._

_Even him._

_He slowly stood, holding Soul Calibur tightly. He didn't care what happened to him. He only wanted to destroy Nightmare and Soul Edge. When that was done he would redeem himself for all he had done._

XxXxX

Siegfried slowly moved to Soul Edge, raised his sword, and pierced the eye of the Evil Blade. The sword cried out in pain, but no one cared. Soul Edge and Soul Calibur slowly dissolved into nothingness, and Siegfried slumped to the ground, the crystal armor chipping off in small chunks.

He heard footsteps beside him, but didn't bother to look. He knew it was Link.

"Siegfried," he said. Siegfried gasped at a slight pain in his back and fell backwards into Link's arms. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Siegfried chuckled. "When did you find out?"

Link smiled. "When your armor started falling off."

"It's for the best." Siegfried locked eyes with Link. Link's eyes were now golden, just like Ganondorf's had been. But unlike Ganondorf, his eyes shined with kindness and deep concern. "I killed thousands of people, Link. This is the only way to redemption. When you get back to the Twilight, tell Princess Hilde I love her."

Link shook his head. "You can tell her that yourself." Link put his left hand on Siegfried's, closed his eyes, and squeezed. Siegfried gasped for air as he felt a sudden power flow into his hand, filling his body with the strength to go on.

Link was transmitting the Triforce of Power to Siegfried.

The sudden power was all too much for him. His eyes slowly closed and he slumped in the sand, alive and breathing, but unconscious, the wounds finally able to heal.

Link smiled as he felt Siegfried's pulse, then raced over to Colin.

Colin lay on the rain-soaked sand smiling, like the rain was washing all ill feelings and memories away. Link knelt beside him and lifted his head into his right arm, his left over the wound left by Ganondorf's attack, meant for him. He looked at the wound and then back at Colin, who was smiling up at him, like a son would to a father. Link smiled back.

"Did we win?" Colin asked, still smiling.

Link nodded. "Yeah," he said. To this, Colin closed his eyes and sighed in relief, like a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders.

"Can you walk?" Link asked stupidly.

Colin shook his head slowly then coughed up a shocking amount of blood.

Knowing full well that Colin's body and mind were too young and delicate to hold the Triforce of Wisdom, Link had to think fast. He examined the wound. Luckily the sword had not pierced any vital organs. But the wound itself was still very bad. Fatal, in fact, if he didn't do something quickly.

He looked fervently around them. The only thing he could think of to help the boy was a fairy, and he didn't have any those. He looked down at his ruined tunic and after a few seconds to think, ripped most of it off.

Since his King's tunic was pretty much ruined anyway, the only thing it could do now was to try to save the young hero at Link's side.

Fortunately Link had the foresight to pack water for this trip. He doused some of the cloth and dabbed at the blood, lessening the chances of infection. He wrapped the whole thing around Colin's chest and over the wound. Colin's chances for survival was slim, but still he had to try. He lifted Colin's head and tipped the water into his mouth.

Knowing that was all he could do, Link stood up and dusted off his pants, an old habit of his.

He looked at the podium where the mirror once stood and saw a small glimmer. He walked over to it and saw what it was:

A shard.

He could only see one of his eyes, and they were the same blue they had always been, but that wasn't the only thing he could see. In a split second he could see everything through that one shard.

He saw Midna, Shildow, Somber and Crystalline, even Lance, and Neixion, Motus: his people!

He pocketed the shard and moved to his two blades, the only blades there any more. The Keyblade had vanished in a pillar of light and the two Soul swords had been destroyed.

He sheathed the Master Sword and grabbed his other sword with his right. He walked over and planted the sword in the Mirror's podium, then slowly walked out of the Mirror Chamber, making his way home with the two limp bodies.

Leaving the Twilight behind.

Forever.

XxXxX

_(Twilight Realm)_

Midna sat in her and Link's bed, breast-feeding Crystalline as Somber slept in Princess Hilde's arms. Hilde was sitting on one of the chairs near the fireplace. She had come here to talk with the Twilight Queen and relieve her mind of regret she felt. Midna's mind, however, was on Link. No surprise there.

Midna suddenly felt something. She didn't know what it was, but it had something to with Link, which was either very good or very bad. Crystalline began to cry and she instantly knew then it was the latter.

"YOUR MAJESTIES! YOUR MAJESTIES!" One of the maids burst into the room, a look of absolute horror in her face. Midna fixed her clothes so nothing was showing, even though this maid was one of her friends, and stood up, still holding Crystalline in her arms.

"What is it?" she asked fearfully. Her eyes clearly showed that fear and the maid, Jex, paused for a second, then gave her the answer she would hear eventually. It would be best if she heard it from a friend.

"Your Majesty," she began, but Midna snapped, unable to stand it any longer.

"Just say it!" she ordered. Jex nodded.

"Shadow monsters have entered the Twilight and are killing at will. And," The Twili took a deep breath and looked Midna in the eyes. "And the Mirror has been shattered. Utterly shattered." She held out her hand. "This was all that was there." Midna stared at the silver ring in Jex's hand.

Jex handed her Link's ring, and with that, she exited the room, leaving the now crying Twilight Queen to her own thoughts.

On the nightstand next to their bed were Link's last words to her, in his letter.

XxXxX

The next day, Link gazed at the black stone in the Mirror Chamber. Siegfried and Colin were resting in his old house back in Ordon. They had been asleep ever since the fight, but the both of them were in need of much rest.

Link stood beside the Twilight Blade, simply staring at where the portal would be. He glanced at the black blade then back to the large stone. "Midna, I won't forget," he quietly promised. "Good night."

And with those words, Link: The Hero and King of Twilight, walked to his home in the remnants of Ordon. When he got back he took one last glance at the Twilight before entering the building to rest.

From the next day onward, his life would never be the same again.

XxXxX

'_To my beloved wife, Midna, I am truly sorry for leaving like this, without saying goodbye and all, but you know how it is. I cannot find words to describe how much you mean to me, and I shall treasure every moment we spent together and hold them tight to my heart forever._

_I love you! Forever I will be yours! My heart! My soul! And my love!_

_Link'_

XxXxX

**Sad. I understand if you don't want this for your favorite stories lists anymore, but I had to do it. It would have been sappy if I hadn't. Anyway, special thanks to my friends: Eric and Jacob, who have helped me from the start of this whole story, and to all you readers.**

**I had originally planned on killing off Colin in this chapter, cause you know: No victory without loss (No great victory, at least). But then I though: You know what, this story has seen enough 'loss' here. So. Yeah.**

**The reason Ganondorf was a Heartless for the last two chapters is because he lost his heart to anger, hate, revenge, and to darkness. And that is how a Heartless is born.**

**And now for the list of non-dead people:**

**Twilight Princess:**

**A third of the Gorons, half of the Zoras, Shad, Telma, Auru, Agitha, Renado and his daughter Luda (it was close, but they were saved by Barnes and his bombs, who died in doing so), half of the residents of Castle Town also lived through this, a fifth of the rooky Hylian knights were led to safety by one of the captions who's name is Viper Xavier (He's alive too), Coro and his siblings, and those two clown guys at Lake Hyla.**

**The Soul Calibur series:**

**Maxi, Talim, Cassandra (but she did NOT like being on the side lines of battle), Siegfried's mother, Sophitia's two children and her husband (she did die, sadly), Yoshimitsu, out of request Ivy is alive too, and Yun-Seong, everyone else who was in the games is now dead.**


	10. Sonnets For The Beloved

**You though I was going to end it here, didn't you? If you looked closely you'll see I never said it was over ;)**

**Well, you're wrong... and at the same time, you're right... Sadly.**

**Anyway, the last chapter of A Hero's Soul is told from Link's point of view. He is reading a poem to Midna from the World of Light to the Twilight Realm. If you want more poetry, give me a call and I'll give you one.**

**I know it's a sad ending, but I don't want ANY crap about it, got it?**

_**Epilogue**_

_**Sonnets For The Beloved**_

I sat on top of Hyrule Castle's tallest tower in my black coat, hood down. What was left of the castle was all over the ground around the marble walls. I was looking up at the twilight sky. The Master Sword hung loosely in my hand. Tears were running freely down my cheeks, but I made no movement to stop them.

They were all worth at least a few tears.

I heard another cry of anger from the dungeons. It was Zelda, or more correctly: her Heartless. I made no movement toward that either. She had been screaming like that nonstop since Ganondorf's defeat. I knew that even if I gave her any kind of comfort she would simply try to kill me, and she would be that way until we found her missing heart. But every time I heard her, my own heart would nearly break at the pain of my once best friend.

Nearly a month. It has been nearly a month since the monster known as Ganondorf was destroyed, and even though Siegfried, Colin, and I have found many survivors from the monster's assault, I still feel this emptiness in my heart. I was living alone, without Midna. I smiled sadly at the thought of my beloved wife. Though it was only a month, her image was fading from my mind, and I can only see her face clearly in my dreams. And our children: Somber and Crystalline. They might never know their true father, and I very well might never hold either one ever again. It was almost enough to bring me to an end.

Most of my cuts were fully healed, but the evil of Soul Edge didn't heal very fast, and some of them were more recent than from that fight in the Mirror Chamber. My hair was much longer and now came down below my shoulders.

The sound of both fighting and cries of pain echoed inside my mind… death cries, mothers and fathers crying over the loss of their children, the children themselves screaming at their parents' dead bodies, the sound of fire eating at villages and small cities and flashes of many bloodstained bodies came over me every time I closed my eyes. My soul had been permanently tainted by pain, both my own and others. The Heartless and Ganondorf had caused that pain.

As I saw the first glimpse of the full moon and the Twilight began to fade, I suddenly remembered a sonnet I had read to Midna on our honeymoon. It was from a book given to me by Rusl and Uli for my sixteenth birthday. Without a doubt, it was my favorite present that year. I slowly stood from where I was sitting. My feet and legs bent for balance, and I gazed at the remaining Twilight, Midna's smiling, beautiful face suddenly in my memories once more.

And I began the Sonnet:

"_Unlike are we, unlike, O princely heart!_

_Unlike our uses and our destinies._

_Our ministering two angels look surprise_

_On one another, as they strike athwart_

_Their wings in passing. Thou, bethink thee, art_

_A quest for queens to social pageantries,_

_With gazes from a hundred brighter eyes_

_Than tears even can make mine, to ply thy part_

_Of chief musician. What hast _thou_ to do_

_With looking from the lattice-lights at me,_

_A poor, tiered, wandering singer, -singing though_

_The dark, and leaning up a cypress tree?_

_The chrisom is on thine head, -on mine, the dew, -_

_And Death must dig the level where these agree._"

New tears came to my eyes as I remembered that night. We had spent most of our honeymoon with my hand on her stomach and her in my arms, both of us thinking of a name for our future child. We never thought of what our children might bring, or what Ganondorf was willing to do to them. We were far too happy for that.

I had forgotten what happiness is.

I sensed a presence behind me and spun in jump and attacked the Heartless. The monster was sent back to the darkness, but more followed slowly behind it. With one last tear for my beloved wife and family, I pulled up my hood, extended my blade and charged the creatures of darkness with a battle cry.

XxXxX

**A quick shout out to the author of that little poem up there, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, she wrote the book, 'Sonnets From The Portuguese', it's a good book and I highly recommend it! Once again, if you want more poetry, just tell me ;)**

**ALL RIGHT! SNEAK PEEK TIME! :) Yep, this thing has a sequel to it. I told you that you were right and wrong at the same time. Just sit tight, and you will read the upcoming story: A Hero's Soul II: Remnant of Darkness.**

XxXxX

"_How long has it been?"_

"_SHUT UP!" Link yelled._

"_Five months? Seven?"_

"_SHUT UP, I'M WARNING YOU!"_

"_I wouldn't be surprised if she had moved on by now."_

XxXxX

"_Who are you?" Siegfried asked. The man in front of them was near eighteen years old. He was slightly taller than Siegfried. He had short, spiky blue hair and caring brown eyes. On his belt was a long gold sword with an ash black handle and guard, he wore a long red cape and his tunic was blue._

XxXxX

_Colin, Siegfried, and Link examined the armor pieces on their arms. They were well made and the color was golden brown. On the shoulder was a black circle button. Colin wore his on his left arm whereas Siegfried and Link wore theirs on their right._

"_Remember," the space bounty hunter said. She had a look of seriousness in her eyes. "Only use that armor when your life depends on it." The three men slowly nodded._

XxXxX

_The man in black stood tall, looking down on the young king as he sheathed his weapon. "What to you think, hero?" he asked in a mocking tone. He then indicated the burning town behind him and the hundreds of corpses lying there._

_He felt the rage boil inside himself, but he knew there was nothing he could do._

XxXxX

"_The man you knew is gone, Siegfried," the shaman sad sadly. "Only the true Link can get him back now."_

XxXxX

"_Why..." the man in black said from the ground, "Why *an__y*u w*e** *** ********?"_

_Siegfried looked down at his weapon, then in a flash of anger at the man, yelled. "SHUT UP!" He raised his sword and brought it down onto the man._

XxXxX

"_Link?" Midna whispered in shock._

_He laughed and rubbed the back of his head from where he sat on the ground. "You always had a good arm," he said before she tackled him to the ground._

XxXxX

**Well, it's been fun, but I'll see you again sometime after I finish my other stories. Or when you read those. :)**

**Thank you for reading.**


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